Standard treatment in advanced ovarian cancer in 2005: the state of the art

What are standards? The oncology community expends considerable effort to review the results from definitive treatment studies and define recommendations for future studies, as well as standards of care for the community and patients who are not participating in clinical trials. This is a thoughtful and well-intentioned process but subject to considerable bias due to limitations in the data and/or their interpretation. While ovarian cancer is highly responsive to platinum-based therapy after initial cytoreductive surgery, there is a substantial risk of recurrence, which is accompanied by the emergence of drug-resistant disease. Better treatments with improved long-term outcomes are needed. From this perspective, standards can help to provide a baseline for assessing gaps in our current knowledge and defining priorities for future clinical trials. While not an exhaustive review, this study will focus on key clinical concepts that are guiding ovarian cancer research and treatment.