The short answer
Ovarian cancer is usually treated with surgery to remove as much cancer as possible, followed by chemotherapy. Targeted therapy is used for some ovarian cancers, and biomarker testing can help guide treatment.
Treatment usually combines surgery and chemotherapy.
Surgery aims to remove as much of the cancer as possible.
Chemotherapy is used after surgery, and sometimes before.
Targeted therapy helps some ovarian cancers, including those with BRCA changes.
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This page explains the main treatments for ovarian cancer and how test results shape the plan.
The simple version
Ovarian cancer treatment commonly combines two things: surgery and chemotherapy. Your team chooses the plan based on the stage and type of cancer.
Ovarian cancer often causes few symptoms until it's advanced. Beyond surgery and chemo, biomarker testing (tests on the tumor or blood) can help guide treatment. Testing can look for changes in the BRCA genes. A BRCA change can make some targeted drugs an option.
Surgery: staging and removing as much as possible
Surgery removes the tumor. Tissue removed during surgery is also checked under a microscope.
The standard operation can remove several things:
- The uterus (called a hysterectomy).
- Both ovaries and fallopian tubes (bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy).
- The omentum, a layer of fatty tissue in the belly where this cancer often spreads (omentectomy).
- Lymph nodes and other nearby tissue.
Surgery aims to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Doctors sometimes call this "debulking."
Some women want to have children. Because the standard operation removes the uterus and both ovaries, a more limited operation may be an option for certain women. It removes only one ovary and tube (unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy). Talk with your surgical team about this before surgery.
Chemotherapy: usually paired with surgery, not instead of it
Chemotherapy is commonly used along with surgery. Your team will tell you which drugs are right for you.
Chemo can be given two ways. It can go into a vein, reaching your whole body. Or it can be carried directly into the belly through a thin tube. Doctors call that second method intraperitoneal (IP) chemo.
Chemo may be given after surgery. Sometimes it is given before surgery instead. Ask your team which fits your situation.
Where BRCA testing changes the plan
Ask your team whether BRCA1/BRCA2 testing makes sense for you. The result can matter for treatment choices, and it can matter for your family.
PARP inhibitors are a group of targeted drugs. Olaparib, rucaparib, and niraparib are examples used as maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer. Maintenance therapy is treatment given after other treatment, to help keep the cancer from coming back.
Whether a PARP inhibitor is right for you depends on your test results and your situation. Your oncology team will decide with you.
Bevacizumab and treatment for recurrence
Bevacizumab is an angiogenesis inhibitor. It may be used with chemotherapy. Your team will tell you whether it applies to you.
If ovarian cancer comes back, your team will talk with you about options, which may include more chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or a clinical trial. The choice depends on your earlier treatment and your test results.
What to ask your team
Ask directly:
- Has my tumor been tested for BRCA and related markers? What did that show?
- How much tumor was removed at surgery?
- Is a PARP inhibitor right for me as maintenance therapy?
It's also worth asking about a clinical trial at any stage.
Sources
Common questions
What are the main treatments?
Surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatments. Surgery removes as much of the cancer as possible, and chemotherapy is usually given after (and sometimes before) surgery.
What is targeted therapy for ovarian cancer?
Targeted therapy, including drugs called PARP inhibitors, helps some ovarian cancers, especially those linked to BRCA gene changes. Biomarker testing helps decide if these fit.
Why is genetic testing often recommended?
Many people with ovarian cancer are offered genetic testing, because inherited changes like BRCA can affect treatment options and have implications for family members.
What guides treatment?
The stage and type of ovarian cancer, along with biomarker and genetic testing, guide the treatment plan.
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Last updated: 2026-10-16Next planned review: 2027-07-07
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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