Treatments and Therapies for Ovarian Cancer

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Fred Hutch Cancer Center offers comprehensive care for ovarian cancer. This includes advanced therapies and new options available only through clinical trials (studies). When it’s found early, epithelial ovarian cancer — by far the most common type — can often be cured. If the disease is already advanced, then the goal of treatment is to control the disease or put it into remission (a cancer-free period).

The most common treatments are surgery and chemotherapy. We’ll tailor your ovarian cancer treatment to you.

Ovarian Cancer Care Tailored to You

You and your family are our top priority. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, we offer comprehensive and compassionate care — personalized to you. You'll have access to the latest treatment options, clinical trials and supportive care services.

Referrals are required for new patients. Please request your primary care provider or specialist fax all relevant medical information to the fax number listed below.

Phone: 206.598.8300
Fax: 206.598.3590

How We Treat Ovarian Cancer at Fred Hutch 

Surgery for Ovarian Cancer

Most people with ovarian cancer have surgery to remove their cancer. There is a range of options that could include removing one or both ovaries, one or both fallopian tubes, the uterus, some lymph nodes and sometimes other tissues in the abdomen and pelvis. 

As a patient at Fred Hutch, you’ll have surgery by a UW Medicine gynecologic oncologist. Your surgeon will be specially trained and board certified in gynecologic oncology. They will recommend the best procedure to match your needs.

Learn About Ovarian Cancer Surgery

Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer

Chemotherapy helps to destroy cancer cells wherever they may be in your body. Usually, it means you get anti-cancer medicine through an intravenous (IV) line. Then the medicine travels throughout your body through your bloodstream.

Our gynecologic oncologists use chemotherapy to:

  • Help shrink tumors before surgery
  • Keep tumors from coming back after surgery
  • Control tumors that can’t be removed
Learn About Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer

CRS-HIPEC for Ovarian Cancer That Has Spread

Cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC) is for people with ovarian cancer that has spread to the abdominal lining (peritoneum). Cancer that has spread here is called peritoneal carcinomatosis, or peritoneal cancer. Fred Hutch has an experienced team that provides CRS-HIPEC.

CRS-HIPEC may be able to control advanced disease while also giving you good quality of life. It combines two parts in one operation:

  • A surgery to remove all the cancer that surgeons can see
  • Chemotherapy, in liquid form, that is warmed and then put into your abdomen to kill any cancer cells left behind after surgery
Learn About CRS-HIPEC

Why Choose Fred Hutch for Ovarian Cancer Treatment 

At Fred Hutch, we understand undergoing ovarian cancer treatment may be one of the most intense and challenging experiences you and your family ever go through. We are here to provide the care you need.

Team-Based Care from Specialists

Fred Hutch has gynecologic oncologists and pathologists who specialize in gynecologic cancer. We offer the most advanced diagnostic, treatment and recovery programs. Along with treating your cancer, we also offer a range of services to support you and your caregiver. This is part of how we take care of you — not just your disease. From registered dietitians to Spiritual Health clinicians to social workers, our experts know how to care for people with ovarian cancer.

The Newest Treatments Tailored to You

We view treatment as a collaborative effort. Your Fred Hutch physicians will explain all your ovarian cancer treatment options. We’ll recommend a treatment plan to get you the best results based on the stage and size of your cancer, where it is and your overall health. We have access to the latest developments in treating cancer and offer patients the chance to get promising therapies through clinical trials done by researchers from Fred Hutch and UW Medicine.

Follow-Up Care

When your treatment is complete, we’ll keep close watch on your health with periodic follow-up visits. You’ll see the same team members who treated your disease. Relapse rates are high in advanced ovarian cancer, so careful follow-up is important. It’s specially designed to provide follow-up care for women who are five years out from their primary treatment.

Ovarian Cancer Treatment FAQ

The best ovarian cancer treatment depends on many factors, like the size of the tumor, where it is and the grade (how quickly it grows and how likely it is to spread). For many people, the main treatment is surgery. The idea is that the most effective treatment is to remove any tumor from the body, if possible. For some women, this may be the only treatment they need. In some cases, surgery might not work well enough on its own. You might need other treatments, too, like chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. And there are times when surgery may not be helpful, but other treatments may help control the disease. At Fred Hutch, we design your treatment plan around what will be most effective for you.

In general, people who have the same stage of ovarian cancer often have the same or similar treatments. At stage I (1), your options may depend in part on if you want the option to become pregnant in the future. Common treatments by stage may include:

  • Stage I (1): Surgery to remove the tumor and usually the uterus (hysterectomy) and both ovaries and both fallopian tubes (bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy). Some people who want to become pregnant may have surgery to remove only the affected ovary and fallopian tube at first. Some people have chemotherapy after surgery.
  • Stage II (2): Hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Some people have chemotherapy given through a vein (intravenous) or put into the abdomen through a tube (intraperitoneal).
  • Stage III (3): Hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. If the cancer has spread to other abdominal or pelvic organs, like the intestines or bladder, these may be removed too. After surgery, people have intravenous chemotherapy, sometimes along with targeted therapy. Some have intraperitoneal chemotherapy. For people who aren’t well enough to have surgery first, chemotherapy may help control the disease and make surgery possible.
  • Stage IV (4): Treatment is similar to stage III.

Fred Hutch offers all standard treatments for ovarian cancer. Our patients also have access to newer options or treatment combinations that you can only get through clinical trials.

Fred Hutch researchers are always looking for better ways to treat ovarian cancer. We are doing clinical trials of new treatments and combinations of treatments for ovarian cancers that are advanced or have come back, including chemotherapies, targeted therapies and immunotherapies, including CAR T-cell therapy. 

Christopher Kemp, PhD, and Elizabeth Swisher, MD, are developing new tools to better understand how a tumor’s genetic changes affect its behavior. Their goal is to find new drug targets and make precision oncology, or tailored treatments, a reality for most cancer patients, including those with ovarian cancer.

Mary L. “Nora” Disis, MD, Fred Hutch researcher and director of the UW Cancer Vaccine Institute, is working on a vaccine for advanced ovarian cancer. It may help treat cancer that has come back and doesn’t respond well to chemotherapy.

Learn more about ovarian cancer research.

Your care team at Fred Hutch is here to help you prevent or prepare for side effects and to relieve any side effects you have. The most important step you can take is to let your team know what you’re feeling. We’ve helped many patients and families through this process and know ways to ease your experience.

Often, there are medicines to help, like anti-nausea drugs. Based on the side effect, there may be a range of other helpful options too, like diet changes, physical therapy and emotional and practical support. Fred Hutch researchers continue to look for the best ways to keep side effects at bay.