Radiotherapy for Ovarian Cancers - Redefining the Role

Abstract

Radiation therapy in ovarian cancers has been considered an outdated concept for many years, mainly due totoxicity and failure to show benefit in terms of survival. Chemotherapy has been extensively used after surgeryfor these cancers and it has almost replaced radiation therapy as an adjuvant treatment. Nevertheless, failuresin ovarian cancers continue to occur even with the use of newer and effective chemotherapy regimens. About70% patients demonstrate recurrence in the abdomen or pelvis after first line chemotherapy in ovarian cancers.With advances in technology and sophistication of radiation techniques, along with the molecular and biologicalknowledge of distinct histological subtypes, there is a need to redefine the role of radiation therapy. This reviewarticle focuses on the literature on use of radiation in ovarian cancers and its rationale and indications in thepresent day. For this, a literature pub med/medline search was performed from January 1975 to March 2014 toredefine the role of radiotherapy in ovarian cancers.