An audit of primary surgical treatment for women with ovarian cancer referred to a cancer centre.

Ovarian cancer is the commonest cause of gynaecological cancer death in the UK, and guidelines for initial surgery and staging of this disease are widely available. We report a retrospective audit of the surgical management of patients with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer referred to the Christie Cancer Centre in Manchester in 1996. The aim was to assess compliance with surgical guidelines. The authors found that the majority of patients (92%) presented via an outpatient clinic and for these individuals surgery was therefore elective. This mode of presentation should allow management by a small number of dedicated gynaecologists at each hospital, but up to seven consultants in each hospital performed surgery on a relatively small number of patients. Furthermore, less than half the patients underwent the recommended surgical procedure. Although some patients may have 'inoperable' disease, these data suggest that a greater compliance with national and international guidelines are required to provide an optimal level of care.