Treatment for Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary Hypercalcemic Type
Cancer experts personalize SCCOHT treatment based on many factors. One factor is how much the cancer has spread. The treatment plan may include some or all of the following:
- Surgery. The first surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible. The surgeon will also look to see if the cancer has spread. This may involve removing one or both ovaries and the fallopian tubes. A “second look” surgery after chemotherapy removes any remaining cancer from the abdomen and pelvic area.
- Chemotherapy to kill the cancer. This treatment involves a combination of six different drugs.
- Autologous bone marrow transplant. Hopefully, chemotherapy and surgery help patients achieve a stage called “minimal residual disease.” This means only a small number of cancer cells remain in the body. Once that occurs, the goal is to build on this progress with additional high doses of chemotherapy. The patient will need to have their own bone marrow harvested before the additional chemotherapy starts. Following the high-dose chemotherapy, the patient’s own bone marrow is infused into the body, providing healthy, blood-forming stem cells that will replenish the bone marrow.
- Radiation therapy to kill the cancer. This is not always needed.
During the “second look” surgery, the surgeon may provide a treatment called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, or HIPEC. This delivers high doses of heated chemotherapy to the abdomen and pelvis to get rid of the remaining cancer cells.
People with stages 3 or 4 SCCOHT need more aggressive treatment than those with stage 1 and 2.
How is this treatment different from what an “adult care” center provides?
Doctors in the adult care setting are likely to treat SCCOHT as they would ovarian cancers that are more common in older people.
Some pediatric cancer doctors (including those at Cincinnati Children’s) take a more aggressive approach. They recognize how similar SCCOHT is to other childhood cancers such as rhabdoid tumors. These other cancers respond better to more aggressive treatment. This is why they recommend a more aggressive course of therapy for SCCOHT. This may include surgery, high-dose chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and radiation therapy.
An effective treatment plan includes support from a team of different kinds of specialists. The care team includes cancer doctors, bone marrow therapy specialists, fertility specialists, surgeons, endocrinologists (hormone specialists), genetic counselors, pathologists, nurses and many other expert providers.