Ovarian Cancer Research

The goals of research on ovarian cancer are to improve current treatments and discover new ones. For example, scientists are currently studying biotherapy and high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant as possible treatments for this disease. In order for research to be conducted, volunteers are needed. These people play an important role in furthering our understanding of ovarian cancer, and may benefit from new treatment methods.

Ovarian Cancer Information

Ovarian Cancer Research: An Introduction

Doctors and scientists are hard at work conducting research on ovarian cancer. These studies are designed to answer important questions and to find out whether new approaches are safe and effective. This research has already led to many advances, and scientists are continuing to explore more effective methods for dealing with this disease.

Current Areas of Research on Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer research scientists are currently studying surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy (including high-dose chemotherapy), biological therapy, and combinations of these types of treatments for ovarian cancer.

Biological therapy is a treatment that uses the person's immune system to fight cancer. In biological therapy, substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. This type of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy.

High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant is a method of giving high doses of chemotherapy and replacing blood-forming cells destroyed by the cancer treatment. Stem cells (immature blood cells) are removed from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a donor and are frozen and stored. After the chemotherapy is completed, the stored stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient through an infusion. These reinfused stem cells grow into (and restore) the body's blood cells.

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