From the Research
The life expectancy for stage 4 ovarian cancer varies widely but generally ranges from 1 to 5 years, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 17-29%. This advanced stage means the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries to distant organs like the liver or lungs. Individual outcomes depend on several factors including the patient's age, overall health, specific cancer subtype, response to treatment, and whether optimal debulking surgery was possible.
Treatment Options
- Standard treatment typically involves a combination of cytoreductive surgery to remove as much tumor as possible, followed by platinum-based chemotherapy regimens such as carboplatin with paclitaxel for 6 cycles 1.
- Newer targeted therapies like PARP inhibitors (niraparib, olaparib, rucaparib) may extend survival in certain patients, particularly those with BRCA mutations.
- Immunotherapy and clinical trials offer additional options.
- The addition of bevacizumab to carboplatin and paclitaxel has shown promising results, with a median progression-free survival of 20.8 months and a median overall survival of 41.1 months 2.
Quality of Life
- While stage 4 ovarian cancer is considered incurable in most cases, some patients experience longer survival with aggressive treatment and maintenance therapy, and quality of life can often be maintained for significant periods with proper symptom management and supportive care.
- The weekly scheduling of paclitaxel and carboplatin has been shown to be as active and better tolerated than the standard regimen, with a lower incidence of neuropathy, neutropenia, and alopecia 1.