Treatment for ovarian cancer
Chemotherapy uses anti cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells.
You might have chemotherapy:
into your vein - the drugs circulate throughout your body in the bloodstream
directly into your tummy (abdomen) during surgery - this is called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)
This page is about chemotherapy into a vein.
Your treatment depends on several factors. These include how far your cancer has spread (the stage) and what it looks like under the microscope (the grade).
When you have chemotherapy depends on your individual case. You might have chemotherapy on its own or combined with surgery. You might have it:
after surgery
both before and after surgery
on its own, without surgery
You usually have chemotherapy once every 3 weeks. Each 3 week period is called a cycle of treatment. You usually have the chemotherapy drugs on day 1 followed by a rest period to allow you to recover.
You normally have about 6 cycles in all, but you may have more.
It takes 3 to 4 hours to have each treatment in the outpatients department. On rare occasions you might have it over 24 hours, when you would stay in hospital overnight.
If you have epithelial ovarian cancer, you usually have the chemotherapy drug carboplatin. You might have it on its own or with another chemotherapy drug called paclitaxel.
Your doctor might use different chemotherapy drugs if:
your cancer has come back
you have a different type of ovarian cancer
Read about the types of ovarian cancer
Targeted cancer drug treatment
Some people may have treatment with a targeted cancer drug. This will depend on your situation. You might have a targeted cancer drug:
with chemotherapy
on its own after chemotherapy
You have treatment through a thin short tube (a cannula) that goes into a vein in your arm each time you have treatment.
Or you might have treatment through a long line: a central line, a PICC line or a portacath. These are long plastic tubes that give the drug into a large vein in your chest. The tube stays in place throughout the course of treatment. This means your doctor or nurse won't have to put in a cannula every time you have treatment.
Find out more about central lines
You usually have treatment into your bloodstream at the cancer day clinic. You might sit in a chair for a few hours so it’s a good idea to take things in to do. For example, newspapers, books or electronic devices can all help to pass the time. You can usually bring a friend or family member with you.
You have some types of chemotherapy over several days. You might be able to have some drugs through a small portable pump that you take home.
For some types of chemotherapy you have to stay in a hospital ward. This could be overnight or for a couple of days.
Some hospitals may give certain chemotherapy treatments to you at home. Your doctor or nurse can tell you more about this.
Watch the video below about what happens when you have chemotherapy. It is almost 3 minutes long.
You need to have blood tests to make sure it’s safe to start treatment. You usually have these a few days before or on the day you start treatment. You have blood tests before each round or cycle of treatment.
Your blood cells need to recover from your last treatment before you have more chemotherapy. Sometimes your blood counts are not high enough to have chemotherapy. If this happens, your doctor usually delays your next treatment. They will tell you when to repeat the blood test.
Between 2 and 8 out of 100 people (2 to 8%) have low levels of an enzyme called dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) in their bodies. A lack of DPD can mean you’re more likely to have severe side effects from capecitabine or fluorouracil. It might take you a bit longer to recover from the chemotherapy. These side effects can rarely be life threatening.
Before starting treatment with capecitabine or fluorouracil you have a blood test to check levels of DPD. So you may start treatment with a lower amount (dose) of the drug or have a different treatment. Your doctor or nurse will talk to you about this.
Common chemotherapy side effects include:
feeling sick
loss of appetite
losing weight
feeling very tired
increased risk of getting an infection
bleeding and bruising easily
diarrhoea or constipation
hair loss
Side effects depend on:
which drugs you have
how much of each drug you have
how you react
Tell your treatment team about any side effects that you have.
Let your doctors know if you:
take any supplements
have been prescribed anything by alternative or complementary therapy practitioners
It’s unclear how some nutritional or herbal supplements might interact with chemotherapy. Some could be harmful.
Read about the safety of complementary and alternative therapies
Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer can be difficult to cope with. Tell your doctor or nurse about any problems or side effects that you have. The nurse will give you telephone numbers to call if you have any problems at home.
Your doctor can find out how well your chemotherapy has worked using:
CA125 blood tests
scans
CA125 is a protein that circulates in the blood. It can be measured with a blood test. It might be raised in women with some types of ovarian cancer. You may hear doctors calling CA125 a type of tumour marker.
Doctors usually measure your CA125 level before you start treatment. If you had high levels, your doctor will expect the level to fall as the chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells.
You might have CA125 blood tests before each chemotherapy treatment to see how well the treatment is working. Or you'll have the test once your whole course of chemotherapy has finished.
Not all women with ovarian cancer have raised CA125 levels. If you did not have raised CA125 when you were first diagnosed, your doctor can't use this blood test to monitor your treatment.
Doctors can also use scans, such as a CT scan, to see how well treatment has worked. You might have a scan after 3 or 6 cycles of chemotherapy.
Last reviewed: 03 Dec 2024
Next review due: 03 Dec 2027
The main treatments for ovarian cancer are surgery and chemotherapy. Your treatment depends on several factors including your cancer stage and grade.
Ovarian cancer is when abnormal cells in the ovary grow and divide in an uncontrolled way.
The stage tells you how big your cancer is and whether it has spread. The grade means how abnormal the cells look under the microscope.
There is support available to help you cope with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, life during treatment and life after cancer.
Ovarian cancer can come back after treatment. This is also called relapsed or recurrent cancer. You usually have treatment with chemotherapy.
Ovarian cancer is when abnormal cells in the ovary, fallopian tube or peritoneum begin to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way.
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