Women Under-Treated for Ovarian Cancer

Another expert said the study confirms the importance of seeing a gynecologic oncologist, as the ACOG opinion recommends.

"It matters who does the surgery," said Dr. Ilana Cass, director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and a gynecologic oncologist.

The new study, she added, has more complete numbers than previous research.

The experts' prime advice for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer or suspected ovarian cancer: Seek out a specialist.

That's easier said than done, however, they added. The problem, Goff said, is that the diagnosis is usually made at the time of surgery. If ovarian cancer is even suspected, she said, women should seek a referral to a center with a high volume of ovarian cancer surgeries, performed by a specialist.

She defines "high volume" as 10 or more such surgeries per year. If a woman cannot find a center that does 10-plus procedures, finding a center and a physician that does at least more than one a year is next-best option. "Those doctors who did 2 to 10 ovarian cancer surgeries were significantly better than those who did only one," Goff noted.

Cass agreed that asking to be referred to a high-volume center and to be seen by a physician who is a gynecologic oncologist are both good steps.

"Women have to be advocates for themselves," she said.

More information

To learn more about ovarian cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Ilana Cass, M.D., director, gynecologic oncology fellowship program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles; Barbara Goff, M.D., director, division of gynecologic oncology, University of Washington, Seattle; April 9, 2007, online edition,Cancer