Nutritional Therapy
Traditionally, nutritional support has been viewed as an intervention to preserve lean body mass, maintain immune function, and avoid metabolic complications. As understanding of the biologic effects of nutrition has…
Communication Skills
In gynecologic oncology, as in all branches of medicine, the clinical encounter with the patient—and often the family—has four specific aims. The first is to gather information from the patient…
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy plays a major role in the treatment of patients with gynecologic malignancies. For women with cervical cancer, radiation therapy is the primary treatment for patients with advanced disease…
Germ Cell and Nonepithelial Ovarian Cancer
Compared with epithelial ovarian cancers, nonepithelial ovarian tumors are uncommon. They include malignancies of germ cell origin, sex-cord–stromal cell origin, metastatic carcinomas to the ovary, and a variety of extremely…
Pelvic Exenteration
Pelvic exenteration is a major surgical procedure that involves the en bloc removal of some or all of the pelvic organs. The main indication for the operation is to control…
Biology and Genetics
Cancer is a complex disease that arises because of genetic and epigenetic alterations that disrupt cellular proliferation, senescence, and death (Fig. 1.1). The alterations that underlie the development of cancers…
Symptom Relief and Palliative Care
Throughout the course of a woman’s illness, anticancer treatment should be coupled with attention to symptom relief, and personal and family support (1). The development of progressive cancer heralds a…
Vaginal Cancer
Primary carcinomas of the vagina represent 1–2% of malignant neoplasms of the female genital tract. In the United States, it is estimated that there will be 3,170 new cases diagnosed…
Chemotherapy
General Principles Tumor Growth and Chemotherapy There are a wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents and a growing number of targeted agents available to treat women with gynecologic cancers. The selection…
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
The disciplines of epidemiology and biostatistics apply to gynecologic oncology in defining cancer occurrence and survival, identifying risk factors, and implementing strategies for treatment or prevention, including the proper design…
