HOLLYWOOD, Fla., March 19 (UPI) -- Women who opt for controversial "second-look" surgery after initial ovarian cancer surgery should also enroll in a trial, say U.S. doctors.
While not advocating the second procedure, "clinical trail participation is the preferred treatment option" for these women, said Robert Morgan, professor of medical oncology at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif.
Morgan, who helped write the treatment guidelines presented over the weekend at the annual meeting of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network in Hollywood, Fla., said if the results of the second operation come back negative, women could also choose observation -- to wait and see if the cancer does return -- or might consider further chemotherapy.
At one time, "second look" operations were routinely offered to women who had undergone ovarian cancer surgery. Because ovarian cancer tends to return, many surgeons thought it was best to take another look to see how well the patient was doing.
Since there are few options available in case of recurrence, doctors tend to believe that "second look" operations only deliver more discomfort and/or bad news for patients.
Morgan said there are no clinical trials that indicate a "second look" procedure is helpful in the long run. Many of the doctors on his panel were hotly opposed to even including the second surgery as a possible option.
However, the panel recognized that some women would still have the procedure done and therefore wrote the guidelines to help doctors treat these patients.
