3. Cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer

(1) Surgery for diagnostic purposes: This kind of surgery could be performed at any time in the course of ovarian cancer (e.g. to get a histological diagnosis). Second-look surgery belongs to this group of procedures. It is an operation performed in patients who are clinically free of disease after the completion of a defined course of chemotherapy with the purpose to confirm the response status (In principle, the removal of the remaining tumor at second-look passes the border of diagnostic procedures). (2) Staging laparotomy: This surgery should be performed in patients with macroscopically early ovarian cancer limited to the ovaries or the pelvis. Aim of this surgery is the detection of tumor spread (3) Primary cytoreductive surgery: Surgery with the aim of complete resection of all macroscopic tumors in patients with first diagnosis of ovarian cancer before any other treatment modalities (e.g. chemotherapy). (4) Secondary surgery/Interval debulking: An operation performed in patients after chemotherapy, usually 2 or 3 cycles, with an attempt to remove any remaining tumor which has not been removed by chemotherapy.