A woman with stage IA, grade 1 ovarian epithelial carcinoma (serous histotype) undergoes complete surgical staging with total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Post-operative management should be:
- A Carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy for 6 cycles
- B Pelvic radiation therapy
- C Observation only — no adjuvant treatment required ✓
- D Single-agent carboplatin for 3 cycles
Correct answer: C. Observation only — no adjuvant treatment required
Explanation
Stage IA, grade 1 epithelial ovarian carcinoma has an excellent prognosis (5-year survival >95%) with surgical treatment alone. Adjuvant chemotherapy does not improve survival in this low-risk group and is therefore not recommended. The ACTION and ICON1 trials combined showed no benefit from adjuvant platinum chemotherapy in adequately staged stage IA/IB grade 1 disease. Observation is the standard of care after complete surgical staging.
Reference: Shaw's Textbook of Gynaecology, 17th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.