Avastin, topotekan, and pain

What do you know about Avastin and topotekan as treatment for ovarian cancer?  What do you recommend for omentum/abdominal pain?

Thank you!

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
The initial (or first-line) chemotherapy used for ovarian cancer is usually a combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel. If the cancer recurs after a period of 6 months since stopping the above chemotherapy, the same drugs may be repeated.
Topotecan is usually a second-line treatment for relapsed ovarian cancer. It has fairly good activity.
Avastin (bevacizumab) has recently been shown to be useful for ovarian cancer. It blocks new blood vessels from being formed inside the growing tumor. In a way, this "starves" the cancer and limits its growth.
As the size of the tumor decreases (by chemotherapy), the pain is expected to reduce too. Meanwhile, pain can be effectively managed using a combination of non-narcotics, narcotics, and supplements.
All the best, and God bless!

[drvanitagoel]

A related discussion, lung cancer was started.