Management of early-stage ovarian cancer: Open questions and debated issues

Introduction: The management of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is linked to the histological subtypes. However, literature did not provide strong evidence to support the best subtype-specific therapeutic strategy. In this review, we aim to summarizethe available evidenceto better guide the surgical and medical management of each specific EOC subtypes. Methods: The article cited in this review were obtained quering the pubmed database in the English language between January 2007 and December 2024. Results: Laparotomy remains the standard for surgical management of early-stage EOC. The roleof adjuvant chemotherapy remains an open issue due to outdated studies with small sample size. Conclusions: Laparoscopy for the surgical management of early-staged EOC seems to be associated with equivalent oncologic outcome compared with laparotomy. The benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy is dependent on the histological subtype. Furthermore, targeted agents may replace adjuvant chemotherapy and clinical trials are urgently awaited.