Early-stage ovarian cancer management often includes which surgical procedure?

• A. Chemotherapy alone
• B. Ovarian cyst drainage
• C. Hormone therapy only
• D. Total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and selective lymphadenectomy

Answer: (D)

Surgical management of early ovarian cancer focuses on removing the tumor burden and obtaining accurate staging to guide further therapy. The standard approach includes removing the uterus, both ovaries, and both fallopian tubes—this is the hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Adding selective lymphadenectomy means sampling or removing regional lymph nodes to check for cancer spread, which helps determine prognosis and the need for additional treatment.

Why this is the best choice: removing the primary sites of disease and assessing lymph node involvement aim to achieve optimal cytoreduction and proper staging in one operation, which is essential for early-stage disease management. Other options don’t address tumor removal or proper staging, so they’re not sufficient as the primary management in this setting.