There is no single “ovarian cancer treatment.” Your plan is built around the type, stage, and grade of your cancer, your overall health, and your own preferences — assembled from imaging, blood work, tissue samples, genetic information, and tumor biomarkers. Most plans combine two or more of the treatments below.

Surgery

Most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will have surgery at some point. The central goal is to remove as much of the tumor as possible (surgeons call this debulking), and the specific operation depends on how far the cancer has spread and, in some early cases, whether preserving fertility is a goal. This is where a gynecologic oncologist matters most — outcomes are better when a specialist performs the surgery.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. After surgery, it goes to work on cancer cells that surgery couldn’t reach. For many women it’s given in cycles over several months, and your team will monitor how the cancer responds throughout.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapies attack specific features that cancer cells use to grow, which lets them hit the cancer harder while doing less damage to healthy cells. Which targeted drugs can help you depends on your tumor’s biology — which is why testing matters so much (more below).

Other treatments

Depending on your situation, your plan may also include immunotherapy (helping your immune system recognize and fight the cancer), radiation therapy, or hormone therapy.

Why genetic and biomarker testing matters

Before or early in treatment, ask about testing for inherited mutations (BRCA1 and BRCA2) and tumor biomarkers such as HRD (homologous recombination deficiency). These results are a roadmap: they can qualify you for targeted treatments that meaningfully improve outcomes, and they tell your family something important about their own risk.

Clinical trials

Clinical trials are how every treatment on this page came to exist. Joining one can give you access to promising treatments before they’re widely available, with close monitoring — while moving the science forward for every woman who comes next. Ask your care team whether you’re eligible for any trials, at diagnosis and again if the cancer recurs.

Questions worth asking your care team

Bring a list to your appointments — and someone to take notes. Good ones to start with:

What stage is my cancer, and where has it spread?
What treatment do you recommend, and what are the alternatives?
Should my tumor get additional testing (BRCA, HRD, other biomarkers)?
Will my case be reviewed by a tumor board?
Am I eligible for any clinical trials?
How often will treatment be, and for how long?
What about logistics — travel, hospital stays, whether I can keep working?
What will my insurance cover?
What side effects should I expect, now and long-term?
How will we protect my quality of life during treatment?
What support services are available to me and my family?

You don’t have to do this alone

Treatment is a marathon, and support is part of the medicine. Peer support groups — for survivors and for caregivers — connect you with people who’ve been exactly where you are. Our resources page lists support networks, financial help, and practical services, and our support programs can help you find what you need.

Treatment options for ovarian cancer