What are the Goals of Radiation for Ovarian Cancer?
- Unlike chemotherapy and surgery, the goal of radiation for ovarian cancer is not usually to treat the cancer upfront
- Instead, radiation can be used to shrink tumors that are causing pain or blockage (called a “palliative setting”) or to shrink a tumor that is not responding to chemotherapy (called a “consolidation setting”)
“When the tumor causes symptoms because of pressure like an intestinal obstruction or bleeding or some other symptoms, radiation can be used to relieve the pressure by shrinking the tumor,” says Dr. Kevin Albuquerque, a radiation oncologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
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In this case, the radiation would be used not to actually treat the cancer, but to alleviate the pain or obstruction it’s causing. Doctors call this use of radiation a “palliative setting.”
Other cases in which radiation might be appropriate are cases where an ovarian cancer tumor is not responding to chemotherapy. Doctors call this use of radiation a “consolidation setting.”
“Basically, we would target the tumor with another weapon, namely radiation, as chemotherapy is not working or the tumor has become resistant,” explains Dr. Albuquerque. In these cases, oncologists often use a very high-energy, very specific type of radiation to target and shrink the tumor, after which they will often try chemotherapy again.
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