In Brief

Abdominal chemotherapy improves ovarian cancer survival

A treatment that pumps anticancer drugs directly into the abdomen — called intraperitoneal (IP) therapy — stands poised to change medical treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer. Each year, 25,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, mostly at an advanced stage.

Based on the results of eight trials in the past two decades comparing intravenous (by vein) chemotherapy with a combination of intravenous and IP therapies, the National Cancer Institute issued an alert in January 2006 encouraging clinicians to use IP therapy after surgery for ovarian cancer.