The list of treatments mentioned in various sources for Ovarian cysts includes the following list. Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment or change in treatment plans.
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The doctor may decide to "wait and see" if the cyst will shrink on its own in a few months. If you frequently develop cysts, your doctor may prescribe birth control pills to prevent you from ovulating. This will prevent follicles from developing and new cysts from forming. Your doctor might talk with you about birth control pills, and if they are right for you. (Source: excerpt from Ovarian Cysts: NWHIC)
If the cyst is small and looks benign on the ultrasound, your doctor may perform a laparoscopy. This procedure is done under general anesthesia on an outpatient basis and allows the doctor to closely examine all of your reproductive organs. A very small incision is made above or below the navel, and a small instrument that acts like a telescope is inserted into the abdomen. If the cyst is small and looks benign, it can be removed after the doctor makes very small incisions in the pubic hairline.
If the cyst is too large to remove this way, the doctor may perform a procedure called a laparotomy. This procedure involves making bigger incisions in the stomach to remove the cyst. While you are under general anesthesia, the doctor is able to have the cyst tested to find out if the tissue is cancerous. If it is cancerous, the doctor will then be able to remove other tissue that could be affected, like the ovary, fallopian tubes, uterus, or lymph nodes. Before any surgery, your doctor will talk to you about what will happen during the surgery, the risks, and how long it will take you to recover. It is important to remember that most cysts are not cancerous and relatively harmless if treated properly. (Source: excerpt from Ovarian Cysts: NWHIC)
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According to the staging of the disease and the patient's age, treatment of ovarian cancer requires varying combinations of surgery, chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiation.
Occasionally, in girls or young women with a unilateral encapsulated tumor who wish to maintain fertility, the following conservative approach may be appropriate:
❑resection of the involved ovary
❑biopsies of the omentum and the uninvolved ovary
❑peritoneal washings for cytologic examination of pelvic fluid
❑careful follow-up, including periodic chest X-rays to rule out lung metastasis.
Ovarian cancer usually requires more aggressive treatment, including total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with tumor resection, omentectomy, appendectomy, lymph node biopsies with lymphadenectomy, tissue biopsies, and peritoneal washings. Complete tumor resection is impossible if the tumor has matted around other organs or if it involves organs that can't be resected. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in a prepubertal girl necessitates hormone replacement therapy, beginning at puberty, to induce the development of secondary sex characteristics.
Chemotherapy extends survival time in most ovarian cancer patients, but it's largely palliative in advanced disease. However, prolonged remissions are being achieved in some patients.
Chemotherapeutic drugs useful in ovarian cancer include carboplatin, docetaxel, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, paclitaxel, cisplatin, and topotecan. These drugs are usually given in combination and they may be administered intraperitoneally.
Radiation therapy generally isn't used for ovarian cancer because the resulting myelosuppression would limit the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
Radioisotopes have been used as adjuvant therapy, but they cause small-bowel obstructions and stenosis.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Follicular cysts generally don’t require treatment because they tend to disappear spontaneously within 60 days. However, if they interfere with daily activities, clomiphene citrate by mouth for 5 days or progesterone I.M. (also for 5 days) re-establishes the ovarian hormonal cycle and induces ovulation. Hormonal contraceptives haven’t been proven to accelerate involution of functional cysts (including both types of lutein cysts and follicular cysts).
Treatment for granulosa-lutein cysts that occur during pregnancy is aimed at relieving symptoms because these cysts diminish during the third trimester and rarely require surgery. Theca-lutein cysts disappear spontaneously after elimination of the hydatidiform mole, destruction of choriocarcinoma, or discontinuation of hCG or clomiphene citrate therapy.
Treatment of polycystic ovarian disease may include the administration of such drugs as clomiphene citrate to induce ovulation, medroxyprogesterone acetate for 10 days of every month for the patient who doesn’t want to become pregnant, or low-dose hormonal contraceptives for the patient who needs reliable contraception.
Surgery, in the form of laparoscopy or exploratory laparotomy with possible ovarian cystectomy or oophorectomy, may become necessary if an ovarian cyst is found to be persistent or suspicious.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Depending on the stage of the disease and the patient’s age, treatment of ovarian cancer requires varying combinations of surgery, chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiation. Cytoreductive surgery, in which the tumor nodules are reduced to as small a size as possible, may increase survival time.
Occasionally, in girls or young women with a unilateral encapsulated tumor who wish to maintain fertility, the following conservative approach may be appropriate:
❑ resection of the involved ovary
❑ biopsies of the omentum and the uninvolved ovary
❑ peritoneal washings for cytologic examination of pelvic fluid
❑ careful follow-up, including periodic chest X-rays to rule out lung metastasis.
Ovarian cancer usually requires more aggressive treatment, including total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with tumor resection, omentectomy, appendectomy, lymph node biopsies with lymphadenectomy, tissue biopsies, and peritoneal washings.
Complete tumor resection is impossible if the tumor has matted around other organs or if it involves organs that can’t be resected. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in a prepubertal girl necessitates hormone replacement therapy, beginning at puberty, to induce the development of secondary sex characteristics.
Chemotherapy extends survival time in most ovarian cancer patients. Unfortunately, it’s largely palliative in advanced disease, but some patients are achieving prolonged remissions and even cures.
Chemotherapeutic drugs may be used alone; however, they’re usually given in combination. They may be administered intraperitoneally. The preferred first-line regimen is paclitaxel and cisplatin (or carboplatin).
Radiation therapy is generally not used for ovarian cancer because the resulting myelosuppression would limit the effectiveness of chemotherapy. It also has limited efficacy.
Radioisotopes have been used as adjuvant therapy, but they cause small-bowel obstructions and stenosis.
In addition, I.V. administration of biological response modifiers — interleukin-2, interferon, and monoclonal antibodies — may be attempted.
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
The type of cyst dictates the treatment method.
Follicular cysts generally don’t require treatment because they tend to disappear spontaneously within 60 days. Although hormonal treatment (such as birth control pills) is frequently prescribed, no evidence exists that it has any effect on treatment or prevention of functional ovarian cyst.
If granulosa-lutein cysts occur during pregnancy, treatment is symptomatic because they diminish during the third trimester and rarely require surgery. Theca-lutein cysts disappear spontaneously after elimination of the hydatidiform mole, destruction of choriocarcinoma, or discontinuation of HCG or clomiphene citrate therapy.
Treatment of polycystic ovarian disease may include the administration of such drugs as clomiphene citrate to induce ovulation, medroxyprogesterone acetate for 10 days of every month for the patient who doesn’t want to become pregnant, or a low-dose hormonal contraceptive for the patient who needs reliable contraception.
Surgery, in the form of laparoscopy or exploratory laparotomy with possible ovarian cystectomy or oophorectomy, may become necessary if an ovarian cyst is found to be persistent or suspicious.
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
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