Ovarian cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the ovary begin to multiply so excessively they and form a tumor. The treatment for ovarian cancer is decided based on the stage of cancer, type of tumor, and based on whether one would want to get pregnant in the future. One of the most popular treatment options is referred to as local treatment where the treatment is done without affecting the rest of the body. Local treatments may include the following:

1. Surgery
Surgery is one of the prominent and initial treatments for ovarian cancer if the person is medically fit. If they are not fit for surgery, they will be treated with chemotherapy and will later be considered for surgery. The main aim of surgery is to see how far the cancer has spread and to remove all the possible visible tumors. The surgery is undertaken for removing both ovaries and the womb or removing the affected ovary and fallopian tube or removing the uterus.

2. Radiation therapy
It is a procedure that carefully uses directed high-energy rays that are used to kill the remaining cancer cells in the pelvic area and prevent them from further growth. Radiation therapy is either done externally or internally. External beam radiation therapy is considered to be the preferred type. It is like getting an X-ray, but the radiation is quite high and is directly delivered to the tumor site from a machine outside the body. Unlike external radiation therapy, brachytherapy, or internal radiation, aims radiation beams from outside the body. It is the implantation of a small number of radioactive seeds or materials that are placed inside or near the tumor site.

Systemic treatment is another approach to treating ovarian cancer. These treatments mainly comprise the use of medications. These treatments can reach cancer cells anywhere in the body, and may include:

1. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy works by destroying the cancer cells by using anti-cancer or cytotoxic medications. The drawback of chemotherapy is that some normal cells may also get affected due to the medications given during this procedure because the cytotoxic medications are hazardous to the cancer cells. Chemo medications are administered either intravenously, orally, or in some cases, it may also be injected through a catheter (thin tube) directly into the abdominal cavity. The procedure of administering through a catheter is known as intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy.

2. Hormone therapy
Some cancers develop using hormones because they are sensitive to hormones or are hormone-dependent. Hormone therapy is a treatment that uses hormones or hormone-blocking medications to lower or block the number of hormones in the body to fight cancer and to slow down its growth. Hormone therapy is most often used to treat the stromal tumors of the ovary and is rarely used to treat epithelial ovarian cancer.

3. Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy or biological therapy is the use of medications or other substances to identify and attack cancer cells and stop their spread. It is a process of encouraging the body to fight cancer on its own by strengthening the immunity system. These therapies may also cause little damage to normal cells. Each targeted therapy works differently, but it primarily blocks or prevents the genetic changes responsible for cancer’s growth.