In the management of ovarian cancer, the combination of surgery followed by chemotherapy is primarily aimed at which goal?

• A. Cure
• B. Palliative only
• C. Debulk tumor and eradicate residual disease
• D. Diagnosis only

Answer: (C)

The main idea is cytoreductive surgery aimed at removing as much tumor as possible so that chemotherapy can effectively target the remaining disease. In ovarian cancer, reducing the tumor burden before or during chemotherapy makes the drugs work more efficiently on what’s left, including microscopic cancer cells that aren’t visible to the surgeon. Achieving minimal or no gross residual disease with surgery improves the chances that chemotherapy will eradicate the remaining cancer and can lead to better survival outcomes. While a cure is possible in some cases, the typical goal of this combined approach is to debulk the tumor and eliminate residual disease, rather than diagnose or merely palliate.