Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer

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Chemotherapy uses medicines to kill fast-growing cells (like cancer cells) or to keep them from dividing (which is how cancers grow). It is usually a systemic treatment. This means the medicine will travel throughout your body and destroy cancer cells wherever they may be. Sometimes chemotherapy is directed at a specific organ or region of the body.

Your gynecologic oncologist prescribes your ovarian cancer chemotherapy and other medicine-based treatments along with doing your surgery. They also set your treatment schedule.

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 Chemotherapy Can Treat Ovarian Cancer

Your care team may recommend chemotherapy:

  • After surgery to kill any cancer cells that remain
  • Before surgery if your physician believes you’re not well enough for surgery or there are other reasons to try controlling the disease before surgery

Typical chemotherapy for ovarian cancer is given in cycles. You’ll get a dose and then have a rest period before the next treatment. Chemotherapy schedules differ, based in part on which drugs you receive. Your care team will talk with you about how often you need to get chemotherapy and for how many weeks or months. A common schedule is six cycles, or treatments, spaced three weeks apart.

Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC)

Fred Hutch Cancer Center offers another option if ovarian cancer has spread to your peritoneum (abdominal lining). It’s called CRS-HIPEC. In a single operation, your surgeon removes all the cancer they can see, and they put warm, liquid chemotherapy into your abdomen. The goal is for the medicine to kill any cancer cells left behind after surgery. CRS-HIPEC may be able to control advanced disease while also giving you a good quality of life. 

Learn more about CRS-HIPEC.

Dr. Renata Urban
Dr. Renata Urban is a gynecologic oncologist at Fred Hutch and UW Medicine specializing in treating all gynecologic cancers including ovarian cancer.

Why Choose Fred Hutch for Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer 

At Fred Hutch, patients get chemotherapy for ovarian cancer from leading physicians who specialize in gynecologic cancers. They are experts in their field and in giving medicines for ovarian cancer. We often have clinical trials testing new drugs or new combinations of drugs for ovarian cancer. So, we are able to offer you therapies that aren’t offered everywhere.

Your Fred Hutch gynecologic oncologist designs a treatment plan for you to target your tumor and have the least impact on healthy tissue. They also work closely with you to manage any chemotherapy side effects. Your whole team helps you take the best possible care of yourself during treatment.

Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer FAQ

Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer is usually given by infusion. For an infusion, liquid medicine is put into a vein through an intravenous (IV) line. This can be a line in your arm (peripheral venous catheter) or a port in your chest (central venous catheter). Cancer nurses who are experts in infusions give you these treatments. They will also watch over you during the treatment. They will help with any medical issues that come up and will keep you comfortable.

In CRS-HIPEC, liquid chemotherapy is put into your abdomen through a tube during an operation to remove a tumor. It stays for one to two hours. Then your physician drains the medicine and washes out your abdomen with a sterile solution.

Sometimes physicians give chemotherapy into the abdomen (intraperitoneal chemotherapy) in a separate procedure (not at the same time as surgery to remove the tumor). They do this by inserting a tube into the abdomen through a small incision in the skin. It’s a way to get more of the medicines to the cancer in that area. The medicine also goes into your bloodstream to treat cancer cells that might be in other parts of your body.

You will probably receive a combination of two chemotherapy drugs. The standard chemo for ovarian cancer is a combination of paclitaxel plus carboplatin or cisplatin.

Other chemotherapy drugs for ovarian cancer include:

  • Oxaliplatin
  • Docetaxel
  • Bevacizumab
  • Liposomal doxorubicin

Your Fred Hutch care team will talk with you about the specific drug combinations we recommend for you, how you’ll receive them and your treatment schedule.

Common chemotherapy side effects include:

  • Fatigue
  • Mouth sores
  • Skin reactions, like rashes on the hands and feet
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Hair loss
  • Increased risk of infections
  • Easy bruising or bleeding

If your Fred Hutch care team recommends chemotherapy, we’ll explain what to expect based on the medicine you’re getting and how to manage these side effects.

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. We also offer integrative medicine, including acupuncture. Fred Hutch researchers continue to look for the best ways to keep side effects at bay.