Other treatments for ovarian cancer

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy drugs can target specific features of cancer cells to stop the cancer growing and spreading. These drugs are often recommended for more advanced ovarian cancer or ovarian cancer that has come back (recurred). Research shows that targeted therapy can achieve good results for some people.

Whether you are offered targeted therapy drugs will depend on:

• the type of ovarian cancer you have
• other treatments you’ve already had and if they have worked
• whether you have a particular gene change that may respond to targeted therapy drugs.

Targeted therapy for ovarian cancer often includes medicines called PARP inhibitors. These are now regularly used in Australia for people whose cancer has certain gene changes. Your treatment team will discuss whether this approach is suitable for you.

Side effects

While damage to healthy cells is limited, targeted therapy can still have side effects, and these can occasionally be very serious. The most common side effects include nausea, fatigue, diarrhoea and low blood cell counts. More serious side effects include bone marrow problems. It is important to tell your doctor about any new or worsening side effects.

Radiation therapy

Also known as radiotherapy, radiation therapy uses a controlled dose of radiation to kill cancer cells or damage them so they cannot grow, multiply or spread. The radiation is usually delivered in the form of x-ray beams.

Radiation therapy is occasionally used to treat ovarian cancer that has spread to the pelvis or to other parts of the body. It may be used after chemotherapy or surgery to help reduce the symptoms of advanced cancer, or on its own as a palliative treatment.

For each radiation therapy session, you will lie on a treatment table under a large machine that delivers radiation to the affected parts of the body. You will not feel anything during the treatment. While the actual treatment only takes a few minutes for each session, the set up can mean you may be in the room for about 20–30 minutes for
each appointment.

The number of radiation therapy sessions you have will depend on several factors, including the type and size of the cancer and where it is located. You may have a few treatments, or daily treatments for several weeks.

Side effects

These can vary. Most are temporary and disappear a few weeks or months after treatment. Radiation therapy for ovarian cancer is usually given over the lower abdominal/pelvic area, which can irritate the bowel and bladder. It can also cause infertility.

Common side effects include feeling tired, diarrhoea, needing to pass urine more often, a burning feeling when passing urine (cystitis), and, less often, a slight reddening of the skin around the treatment site. More rarely, you may have some nausea or vomiting. If this occurs, you will be prescribed medicine to control it.

Radiation therapy can also have long-term side effects that may occur months or years after therapy. These can include scarring of the bladder, vagina and bowel, as well as a very small increase in the risk of cancers in the decades after therapy.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of drug treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.

In Australia, immunotherapy drugs are currently available as treatment options for some types of cancer, such as melanoma and lung cancer.

At present, immunotherapy has not been proven to help treat ovarian cancer. Clinical trials testing immunotherapy drugs for treating ovarian cancer are under way in Australia and overseas.

You can ask your treatment team for the latest updates and if there are any clinical trials that would be suitable for you.