Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (LGSOC)
Treatment Options
Everyone’s experience with LGSOC is different and requires a unique approach. Your healthcare team will tailor your treatment plan to your needs, and with currently available treatment options, people with LGSOC can live for many years.
Talk to your doctor about LGSOC
Before you start treatment
Ask your doctor if they have experience treating people with LGSOC. If your doctor does not have experience with LGSOC, you may want to seek additional expert opinions by arranging a consultation with an LGSOC expert, such as a gynecologic oncologist.
An ovarian cancer specialist can tell you whether genetic testing is right for you. Different genetic tests include those that look for germline mutations (mutations that are inherited from a parent) and somatic mutations (mutations that are not inherited).
Genetic testing can help inform treatment options. Test results will show if you have mutations (changes to your DNA). This could guide treatment decisions or qualify you for LGSOC clinical trials.
Ask if genetic testing is covered by insurance. Work with your doctor’s office to find out what testing costs your insurance will cover. Your doctor’s office can also act on your behalf and work with your insurance company to try lowering costs.
Initial treatment options
While there are treatment options available, there is not yet a therapy specifically approved by the FDA for LGSOC. But scientists are working hard to change that, with different types of groundbreaking medicines being studied in people with LGSOC.
These treatment options are recommendations from professional guidelines. Your doctor may use these guidelines to select the most appropriate treatment for you.
Surgery:
One or both of your ovaries, your fallopian tube(s), and/or your uterus may need to be removed. Make sure to discuss your wishes, such as family planning, with your doctor before any procedures to develop your surgical plan. In some cases, multiple surgeries may be needed to address complications related to your cancer. After surgery, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy.
“I asked a ton of questions…I felt like I went into every surgery knowing exactly what was going to happen, exactly what the possibilities were—and my doctor was really supportive.”
—Ellie, person living with LGSOC
Chemotherapy:
This is medicine that helps stop cancer cells from growing. It can also stop healthy cells from growing, which is why you may experience side effects like hair loss and nausea, for example. While HGSOC responds to chemotherapy, LGSOC often does not. If your cancer does not respond to chemotherapy, you may need another treatment approach.
Hormone therapy:
Also called endocrine therapy, these are treatments that block estrogen and may help slow the cancer’s growth. However, certain types of hormonal therapies used for LGSOC can come with serious long-term side effects like hot flashes, sexual health challenges, osteoporosis, and bone pain. Talk to your doctor about the side effects of hormonal therapy.
Angiogenesis inhibitors:
These cancer medicines block the growth of blood vessels that help cancer cells grow. Side effects may include serious safety risks including surgery/wound healing complications and hemorrhage.
The information on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor(s). Always consult with your doctor(s) when making treatment decisions, as they know you and your treatment needs best.
LGSOC treatment survey
Tell us about your LGSOC treatment journey.
LGSOC is highly recurrent
Because LGSOC grows more slowly and current treatments for this cancer type may not work for long periods of time, it requires consistent monitoring.
When your cancer comes back after initial treatment, it’s considered recurrent.
Coping with Recurrence
Amanda, a person with LGSOC, discusses the challenges of living with recurrent disease.
Treatment options for cancer that comes back
Some options for treating recurrent disease are:
- Additional surgery
- Targeted therapy (some treatments require certain mutations, or changes to your DNA, to work)
- Hormone therapy
- Chemotherapy (you may or may not have had it before)
- Clinical trials
If your cancer hasn’t responded well to treatment, ask your doctor about enrolling in a clinical trial.
Talk to your doctor about LGSOC
References
Gershenson DM, Cobb LP, Westin SN, et al. Contemporary primary treatment of women with stage II-IV low-grade serous ovarian/peritoneal cancer (LGSOC): determinants of relapse and disease-free survival. Gynecol Oncol. 2022;167(2):139-145.
Cleveland Clinic. Somatic and germline mutations. Accessed July 9, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23067-somatic–germline-mutations
Referenced with permission from the NCCN Guidelines for Patients® for Ovarian Cancer, 2023. © National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc. 2023. All rights reserved. Accessed July 11, 2024. To view the most recent and complete version of the NCCN Guidelines for Patients, go online to NCCN.org/patientguidelines
Banerjee SN, Ring KL, Nieuwenhuysen EV, et al. Initial efficacy and safety results from ENGOT-ov60/GOG-3052/RAMP 201: a phase 2 study of avutometinib (VS-6766) ± defactinib in recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC). J Clin Oncol. 2023;41:(suppl 16):5515. doi:10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.5515
Grisham RN, Slomovitz BM, Andrews N, et al. The highs and lows of serous ovarian cancer. Cancer. 2023;129(17):2613-2620.
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Lazurko C, Linder R, Pulmanet K, et al. Bevacizumab treatment for low-grade serous ovarian cancer: a systematic review. Curr Oncol. 2023;30(9):8159–8171.
Welsh SJ, Corrie PG. Management of BRAF and MEK inhibitor toxicities in patients with metastatic melanoma. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2015;7(2):122-136.
National Cancer Institute. Ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal treatment (PDQ®) patient version. Accessed July 9, 2024. https://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/patient/ovarian-epithelial-treatment-pdq
Gershenson DM, Bodurka DC, Lu KH, et al. Impact of age and primary disease site on outcome in women with low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary or peritoneum: results of a large single-institution registry of a rare tumor. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33(24):2675-2682.
American Cancer Society. Clinical Trials: What you need to know. Accessed July 18, 2024. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/making-treatment-decisions/clinical-trials/what-you-need-to-know.html
