Women with ovarian cancer and their families now have access to new guidelines to help them make treatment decisions.

In an effort to help women learn more about ovarian cancer and treatment choices, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) released the Ovarian Cancer Treatment Guidelines for Patients on Sept. 16.

The new guidelines are based on years of research, said Robert C. Young, MD, national volunteer president of the ACS and president of Fox Chase Cancer Center.

"We're giving [women] the power to make the decisions that are best for them," Young said.

The guidelines are a companion to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology used by doctors making treatment decisions.

According to Rodger J. Winn, MD, chairman of the NCCN guidelines steering committee, "By providing oncologists and their patients with similar resources, the guidelines enable shared decision-making. In essence, each member of the team is on the same page."

Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. The ACS estimates that about 23,300 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the US during 2002. It accounts for 4% of all cancers in women.

Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. It is estimated that there will be about 13,900 deaths from ovarian cancer in the US during 2002.

About 80% of ovarian cancer patients survive one year after diagnosis, and over 50% survive longer than five years. If diagnosed and treated before the cancer has spread outside the ovary, the five-year survival rate (percentage of women living at least five years) is 95%. Unfortunately, only about 25% of all ovarian cancers are found at this early stage.

Although ovarian cancer is a serious disease, it can be treated and cured. The new NCCN guidelines explain the importance of finding healthcare professionals who are experienced in treating ovarian cancer.

"Women with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and their families face many challenges," said Rick Alteri, MD, associate medical editor for the ACS. "One of the biggest is trying to learn and understand a great deal of information in a short amount of time.

"These guidelines are a tool to help them deal with some of these challenges — by helping them understand more about the disease itself and how the disease is treated at the nation’s leading cancer centers."

The guidelines include general information on ovarian cancer, as well as on the tests used to diagnose it, Alteri added.

"But the heart of the guidelines are the flow charts, which let a woman know about the appropriate tests and treatment options for her particular stage of cancer, as well as what she might expect in terms of follow-up after treatment," he said.

In addition to the ovarian cancer guidelines, the NCCN and ACS announced several new patient guidelines designed to help patients make more informed decisions about their cancer treatment. The new guidelines cover four areas: lung cancer, melanoma, fever and neutropenia, and colon and rectal cancer.

Other treatment guidelines include breast cancer, prostate cancer, cancer pain management, nausea and vomiting, and cancer-related fatigue. Several of the guidelines are also available in Spanish.

These free materials are available on NCCN’s Web site [at www.nccn.org] and by calling NCCN at 1-888-909-NCCN. Materials also are available on the ACS Web site or by calling 1-800-ACS-2345.