"Up to half of women with advancedstage ovarian cancer might be cured compared to the current  per cent survival rate argues Dr. Steven Narod senior scientist at Womens College Research Institute who calls for a new standard of treatment for women with latestage ovarian cancer. Based on an analysis of existing evidence published in an opinion article in the Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology journal on January  Dr. Narod argues that to achieve a cure rather than simply delay progression or reoccurrence of the disease women should be first treated with aggressive surgery to remove all clinicallydetectable cancer cells followed by targeted chemotherapy to the abdomen intraperitoneal chemotherapy. The possibility of a  per cent cure rate would be a significant improvement over the current  per cent survival rate resulting from more conventional treatment options offered to patients which consist of a combination of different methods including chemotherapy before surgery postoperative chemotherapy delivered intravenously to the whole body as opposed to localized into the abdomen and surgery that leaves minimal residual disease in the abdomen rather than removing all visible cancer cells.  Dr. Narod who is also a Tier  Canada Research Chair in Breast Cancer recommends that doctors should consider adopting a standard model of care for all women diagnosed with advancedstage ovarian cancer   Chemotherapy should be offered after the surgery rather than before. Chemotherapy before surgery might provide a false assurance that theres no more residual cancer whereas microscopic tumour may remain after the surgery leading to cancer recurrence and possibly death.  The surgery should be aggressive in an attempt to remove all visible signs of the tumour and to avoid leaving any residual disease. The goal is to have no cancer visible to the naked eye of the surgeon after the surgery.   Surgery should be followed by intraperitoneal or localized chemotherapy delivered to the abdomen. Localized chemotherapy works best if theres no residual cancer after the initial surgery. It is the combined effect of surgery and chemotherapy that works best. For decades women have been treated with a combination of treatment options resulting in poor prognosis for most women with advancedstage ovarian cancer but there are many survivors as well said Dr. Narod senior scientist at Womens College Research Institute.  Women need support to endure surgery and the rigours of intraperitoneal chemotherapy but should be encouraged to do so whenever possible considering the potential survival benefits said Narod. We should offer all women the possibility of a cure."