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For women with ovarian cancer who relapse after initial response to treatment, clinical trials have yielded mixed results on the value of a second surgical procedure (secondary cytoreductive surgery) in addition to chemotherapy: One recent trial showed improved survival with surgery (Lancet Oncol 2021; 22:439), but another did not (N Engl J Med 2019; 381:1929).
In this new randomized trial, 407 patients with relapsed ovarian cancer received either platinum-based chemotherapy alone or secondary cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy. Enrollment criteria included an interval of at least 6 months since completing initial chemotherapy and three clinical characteristics predictive of complete tumor resectability: good perfo…