Ovarian cancer is on the rise and the worrying part is that over 70 per cent of the cases are detected at an advanced stage, a surgical oncologist said at a conference in the city on Wednesday.
The biological behaviour of ovarian cancer is very aggressive and it can spread fast to adjoining organs and to other organs in the abdominal cavity. Surgery needs to be precise and should not even leave behind “0.5-1cm of the disease”, said Hemant B. Tongaonkar, head of surgical oncology at Nanavati Max Institute of Cancer Care in Mumbai.
Tongaonkar, who has over three decades of experience in treating gynaecological cancer, was in the city to deliver a lecture at a conference on gynaecology oncology.
Tongaonkar said around 20,000 women are detected with ovarian cancer in India every year. The incidence of cervix cancer is going down, while that of ovarian and uterine cancer is going up.
There is no proper screening method to detect ovarian cancer and no prominent symptoms that indicate the development of ovarian cancer at an early stage, said Tongaonkar, a former professor at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
“There are no screening methods applicable to ovarian cancer that have been found to be useful, which is why 70-80 per cent of the cancer cases are detected at an advanced stage,” he told Metro.
“You need aggressive surgery and aggressive chemotherapy. Every step of the treatment has to be right to be able to beat this cancer.”
Earlier, surgeons used to remove only the ovary, uterus and a few lymph nodes. “Now, they sometimes have to remove the bowel and the lining of the abdomen called the peritoneum. Sometimes, a part of the liver has to be removed. This cancer spreads to these organs and these have to be removed,” he said.
He said the precision of surgery is paramount in treating ovarian cancer. “Even if 0.5-1cm of the disease is left after a surgery, it can significantly reduce the chance of cure,” he said.
Gautam Mukhopadhyay, surgical oncologist associated with Narayana Hrudayalaya Cancer Centre, said symptoms like a bit of pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen could be because of ovarian cancer. “I would suggest women consult a gynaecologist and if required, do a sonography,” he said.