Abstract
Quality of surgery is one of the most important determinants of the outcome in ovarian
cancer patients. Surgery by a gynaecological oncologist in a specialised, high-volume
environment and removal of all visible tumours are associated with a higher likelihood
of favourable outcome for patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Population-based
studies in Europe however show that a substantial number of patients do not receive
optimal surgical care. Less than half of the patients suffering from advanced-stage
ovarian cancer are operated by a gynaecological oncologists. Also the proportion of
patients operated in a high-volume or specialised hospital is lower than 50%. In a
substantial number of patients, minimum standard procedures are not performed and
optimal tumor debulking is not achieved. To improve the quality of care, efforts are
needed to develop and implement robust evidence-based European guidelines, provide
surgical training for gynaecological oncologists and establish comprehensive cancer
networks with sufficient resources.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
June 3,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
