LAUSR

Surgery is a cornerstone of treatment in patients with ovarian cancer. In primary disease, patients should be carefully selected to undergo either primary debulking surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery. The aim of every debulking surgery is complete tumour resection. Whilst thorough evaluation of the iliac and para-aortic lymph nodes is important, systematic lymphadenectomy may be omitted when lymph nodes seem unsuspicious. To date, surgical outcome seems to remain the most important prognostic factor in the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer and therefore patients should only be treated in high-volume centres that are able to perform complex multidisciplinary surgery. The role of debulking surgery in recurrent disease has yet to be defined.