Initial Treatment: Chemotherapy For Ovarian Cancer

“The most common way is for chemotherapy to be given intravenously,” says Dr. Chen. “Even when we give the chemotherapy through the veins, in an IV, there are different schedules that we use. We can give this treatment every three weeks, which is the standard way. But we can also give the treatment weekly, which is called dose-dense chemotherapy.” Dr. Chen explains that in dose-dense chemotherapy, the platinum chemotherapy is given once every three weeks and the second drug, paclitaxel (Taxol)  is given weekly. “And that way,” says Dr. Chen, “the treatment is given in a dose-dense fashion, which in some studies has been shown to have some advantage in helping patients do better.”

Sometimes doctors choose to deliver chemotherapy directly into the abdominal cavity, technique called intraperitoneal chemotherapy. This method puts the drugs directly in contact with the cancer cells. And sometimes women receive the drugs by both methods.

While platinum-based drugs remain the gold standard [pun intended!], there are new drugs being used, and others being investigated, to aid in the fight against ovarian cancer. Avastin, for example, is a drug called an angioihnhibitor, which works by inhibiting blood vessel growth and cutting off cancer cells’ nutrient supply.

Another new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors works by affecting cancer cells’ DNA, and stopping the cells from repairing genetic damage.

Dealing with Side Effects

Platinum drugs may be considered the gold standard (pun intended!) of ovarian cancer treatment, but they are not without unwanted side effects and health risks. Lowered blood cell counts may make women susceptible to infection and bleeding, and can sometimes require blood transfusions. Nausea and vomiting are common side effects, though medications can control these symptoms. Fatigue and flu-like symptoms can persist for up to a week after each treatment. Hair loss is, unfortunately, almost inevitable. Some women will also experience neuropathy–a numbness, tingling, and sometimes pain in the hands and feet. This symptom usually subsides when chemotherapy ends, but can sometimes be permanent.

More serious medical side effects include allergic reactions to the medication, and damage to the kidneys or liver. The possibility of any of these effects is why women on chemotherapy for ovarian cancer are monitored so closely by their medical team. Blood counts are usually taken at the beginning of every chemotherapy cycle, and the IVs are usually administered in a unit with a nurse present.

Side effects from treatment can be uncomfortable and frightening, but they are the risks that are considered worth it for the benefit of vanquishing cancer cells.

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