The diagnosis of ovarian cancer can be depressing news for most women. Staging of the cancer is however extremely critical towards understanding the seriousness of the cancer and how far it has spread. Staging of cancer also allows the doctors to select a suitable course of treatment for the condition. Stage 4 ovarian cancer is the last or most advanced form in this disease and metastasis is a common occurrence in this stage. This means that the cancer cells have spread to some other organs within the body. The other organs that may be affected by the cancer include abdomen, liver, colon and in some cases it can also spread to lungs.

The diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer can be made by determining the extent to which the cancer has spread. The line of treatment in case of stage 4 cancer of the ovaries is largely dependent on whether the treatment can provide relief from symptoms or prolong life or control the cancer. With stage 4 cancer of ovaries, the cancer tends to spread to several other areas and so prognosis for such cases is quite poor.

In many cases, the diagnosis of ovarian cancer is not done till the cancer reaches stage 4. In this stage, symptoms include bloating or abdominal swelling, menstrual irregularity, ascites, nausea, diarrhea, pelvic pain, urinary frequency etc. The treatment option for stage 4 cancer of the ovaries includes hysterectomy as well as chemotherapy. Cytoreductive surgery is an option that may also be performed and in this surgery, the surgeon attempts to remove the cancer by reducing the amount of cancer cells. After the surgery, platinum chemotherapy is also performed. Maximum amount of cancer should be removed for cytoreductive surgery and the following chemotherapy procedures to be successful.

The prognosis for Stage 4 ovarian cancer patients is quite bleak with less than 10 percent patients enjoying disease free existence on a long term basis. Normally the treatment for ovarian cancer in stage 4 includes combining chemotherapy regimens that include platinum compound Paraplatin or Platinol. Such platinum compounds help in preventing recurrence of cancer. The adjuvant chemotherapy followed for stage 4 cancer of ovaries includes OnxolTM or Taxol or Taxotere along with platinum compound and this is administered in a period of every 3 weeks for a total of six cycles. Current research is also concentrated on determining the results of new treatments or targeted therapies including bevacizumab which work by slowing the cancer cell growth.

In many cases, chemotherapy may also be given before as well as after the surgery. This is because chemotherapy before the surgery can actually help in reducing the extent of cancer and thereby allow the surgeon to effectively remove the cancer. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy may also be followed wherein the chemotherapy is delivered directly into the abdominal cavity through a catheter which is placed in the abdomen. Another treatment option of stage 4 ovarian cancer is dose dense treatment wherein several chemotherapy compounds may be administered at maximum tolerated doses to prevent the development of resistance in cancer cells.