Therapeutic Progress in Ovarian Cancer

The Boerhaave Committee for postgraduate Medical Education decided to organize a course on cancer treatment covering selected solid tumors, in which they felt important chan- ges were emerging in the basic biologic, diagnostic and therapeutic concepts. Current management of cancer patients is intimately dependent on precise morphologic diagnosis, clinical staging and the proper application of all treat- ment modalities. Many prominent investigators and clinicians of major can- cer centers in the United States, Canada, and Europe con- tributed by lecturing and during the panel discussions. This book is the tangible outcome of the productive ex- changes during the meeting held December 6-8, 1979. In ovarian cancer the usefulness of histologic grading in determining prognosis has become clear. The most impor- tant advance for the management of the patient is th- careful staging procedure, based on new concepts of tumor spread coupled with treatment tailored to the extent of disease. Survival appears to be directly related to the extent of the tumor mass. This has resulted in description and application of optimal cyto-reductive surgery. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy can both effectively eradi- cate small amounts of tumor.