Ovarian Cancer
Treatment in Malaysia

At Onco Life Centre, we take a personalized approach to ovarian cancer treatment in Malaysia. We focus not only on treating the disease but also on supporting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our patients every step of the way.

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Understanding Ovarian Cancer Risk and Diagnosis

Ovarian cancer is relatively uncommon and can arise from different types of cells within the ovary. Inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes greatly increase a woman’s ovarian cancer risk as well as breast cancer risk. Most ovarian cancers are diagnosed in advanced stages, even in more advanced tumors, symptoms and signs are vague and nonspecific. There are no reliable screening tests for ovarian cancer.

Why Choose Onco Life Centre?

Expertise You Can Trust, Innovation You Can Count On

Over 20 Years of
Experience

Our highly-qualified consultant oncologists boast extensive experience treating a vast array of cancers. Their training at prestigious institutions in Australia and the UK ensures exceptional expertise that you can trust.

Collaboration with
Leading Genomics Experts

For complex cases, our oncologists collaborate with leading genomics specialists in the US. This ensures access to the latest treatments for all cancer types.

Unmatched
patient experience

You and your healthcare experience are at the centre of what we do at Onco Life Centre. Our core values of Empathy, Dedication, Professionalism and Service Quality have driven us since our earliest days.

Treatment Methods

Talk to our ovarian cancer oncologists at Onco Life Centre about your treatment options. Ovarian cancer treatment in Malaysia is tailored and personalized by our specialists, depending on the type and stage of the cancer, genetic changes in the blood or tumor, and the patient’s preferences and overall health. There have been significant advances in ovarian cancer treatment, and the landscape of ovarian cancer drug development has evolved immensely over the last 1 to 2 years.

Surgery for ovarian cancer

Surgery is used for both staging and debulking. Staging is the determination of the extent to which cancer has spread in the body. Debulking is removing as much of the tumor as possible. This surgery usually results in removal of tubes and ovaries (known as salpingo-oophorectomy), the uterus (hysterectomy), removal of the omentum (omentectomy), lymph node biopsies, and any other organ involved in the disease. To accomplish “optimal debulking,” at minimum, no individual nodule greater than 1 cm should be left behind. To achieve “optimal debulking”, individual patients might need to go through several rounds of chemotherapy prior to surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy).

Chemotherapy for ovarian cancer

Any patient healthy enough to tolerate chemotherapy will often benefit greatly from its use. When initially diagnosed, the usual first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer is to give a combination of a platinum drug and a taxane drug.

Stromal and germ cell ovarian tumors are most often treated with a combination of chemotherapy drugs. There is much less research on these as they are more curable and much less common than epithelial tumors.

Targeted therapy for ovarian cancer

Targeted therapy is a treatment that targets the cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival. This type of treatment blocks the growth and spread of cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy cells. To find the most effective treatment, our ovarian cancer oncologist may run tumor profiling tests to identify the genes, proteins, and other factors in your tumor.

Typically, about 20% of high-grade tumors have mutations in the BRCA genes. The BRCA mutation, even if found only in the tumor and not in the blood, may increase the effectiveness of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Less common ovarian cancers such as low-grade serous, endometrioid, and clear cell cancers may express mutations in BRAF, PI3KCA, and PTEN genes.

1)PARP inhibitors block an enzyme involved in repairing damaged DNA, leading to cell death and slowing down or stopping tumor growth. The BRCA genes are normally involved in DNA repair, and a mutation in these genes interferes with this pathway function. PARP inhibitors make it difficult for cells that otherwise have a BRCA mutation to grow and divide.

2)Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor monoclonal antibody effectively obstructs the action of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and blocks new blood vessel formation. Because a tumor needs nutrients delivered by blood vessels to grow and spread, the goal of anti-angiogenesis therapies is to “starve” the tumor.

Please click here to learn more about Targeted Therapy.

Hormone therapy for ovarian cancer

Hormone therapy such as the Selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) drug and aromatase inhibitors, is more often used to treat stromal tumors, such as recurrent granulosa cell tumors.

Immunotherapy for ovarian cancer

Immunotherapy is an emerging area within gynecologic malignancies, including ovarian cancer. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Currently, there is approval for immunotherapy drugs for ovarian cancers that are microsatellite instability (MSI)-positive.

Please click here to learn more about Immunotherapy.

Ovarian Cancer Staging

Complete staging of an ovarian cancer includes hysterectomy, removal of the ovaries, tubes, pelvic and aortic lymph node dissection, biopsies of the omentum and peritoneum.

Ovarian cancer staging is determined surgically. If it is stage 4, then diagnosis can be proven with biopsy, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be started before surgery.

Stage 1 ovarian cancer

Limited to one or both ovaries

Stage 2 ovarian cancer

Limited to the pelvis

Stage 3 ovarian cancer

Disease outside of the pelvis, but limited to the abdomen, or lymph node involvement, but not including the inside of the liver

Stage 4 ovarian cancer

Disease spread to the liver or outside of the abdomen

Transparency You Can Trust

At Onco Life Centre, we understand the financial burden associated with ovarian cancer treatment in Malaysia. We are committed to transparency and will provide you with a personalized cost estimate during your initial consultation. Here is an estimate:

Chemotherapy:

At Onco Life Centre, the cost for treating ovarian cancer using chemotherapy for most of our patients is around MYR4,000 per cycle.

Targeted Therapy:

Adding in Targeted Therapy can go up from MYR8,000, depending on the specific type of targeted therapy drug used.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy treatment cost for ovarian cancer can range from MYR10,000 and above depending on the specific type and dosage of immunotherapy drug used.

Types of ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC)

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) or ovarian carcinoma accounts for a majority (85%-90%) of all ovarian cancers. The four most common tumor cell types of epithelial ovarian cancer are serous, mucinous, clear cell, and endometrioid. The serous cell type is the most common variety. It is now thought that many of these cancers actually come from the lining in the fallopian tube.

Ovarian low malignant potential tumor

Ovarian tumors of low malignant potential account for about 15% of EOC. They are most often serous or mucinous cell types. They often develop into large masses that may cause symptoms, but they only rarely metastasize. Often, removal of the tumor, even at more advanced stages can be a cure.

Germ cell ovarian cancers

Germ cell tumors arise from the reproductive cells of the ovary. These tumors are uncommon and are seen mostly in teens or young women. This type of tumor includes different categories: dysgerminomas, yolk sac tumors, embryonal carcinomas, polyembryomas, non-gestational choriocarcinomas, immature teratomas, and mixed germ cell tumors.

Stromal ovarian cancers

Another category of ovarian tumor is the sex cord-stromal tumors. These arise from supporting tissues within the ovary itself. Stromal ovarian cancers (hormone-producing tumors) include granulosa-stromal tumors and Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors.

Is Ovarian Cancer Preventable?

If a patient is positive for a BRCA or Lynch syndrome genetic defect, then the patient should strongly consider removal of her tubes and ovaries to decrease the chance of her getting a cancer. Women with these mutations are at a very high risk of ovarian cancer, and in this situation the risk of heart disease is not as significant as dying of one of these cancers. This can be planned at the end of child bearing, or at age 35.

Talk to our Ovarian Cancer Oncologists and Genetic Counselor at Onco Life Centre about your ovarian cancer risk based on your age and family history of the disease, and how your risk of ovarian cancer can be minimised.

Your Journey

Start Your Recovery

Our dedicated Patient Navigator will assist you with appointment scheduling. Contact us at +6012-3993260 (Call or Whatsapp ).

First Consultation

On appointment day, bring along all the medical reports and your identity documents, ie. identity card or passport. Our team will help you organize the medical reports for our oncologist to review. Our oncologist will discuss the treatment plan with you. Tele-consult is available for overseas patients.

Treatment Day

Come to our center on an agreed date and time for the treatment. Our team will take good care of you. You will be discharged on the same day. Yes, you will get to go home after every treatment visit as no overnight admission is required.

Stay on Track

Our dedicated patient navigator will be following up with you post treatment to check on your condition, to ensure that you are doing well. You will receive a reminder message on your phone for the next appointment date.