Approximately half of the women who achieve a remission in ovarian cancer after first-line chemotherapy will experience a recurrence of cancer within 3 years.
Advances over the last decade in the treatment options available to maximise disease-free survival and quality of life for these patients pose a therapeutic dilemma; which options to employ and when. Several agents, including platinum-based (carboplatin, cisplatin, paclitaxel), topotecan, gemcitabine, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and hormonal treatment (tamoxifen), are approved for the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer. A number of factors impact the decision to treat recurring disease, including the monitoring of Ca-125 levels, the potential for platinum sensitivity, number of prior treatment regimens, and potential cumulative toxicities of therapy. This roundtable discusses these important management issues from a trans-European perspective.
Prof Jonathan Ledermann (University College London, UK) discusses these issues with Prof Andreas du Bois (Kliniken Essen Mitte, Germany), Prof Christian Marth (Innsbruck Medical University, Austria), Prof Sandro Pignata (National Cancer Institute, Italy) and Prof Eric Pujade-Lauraine (Hopital Hotel-Dieu, France).

This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutica (A Johnson & Johnson Company).