Brain Metastases from Ovarian Cancer: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Ovarian Cancer Ovarian cancer (OC) is the current leading cause of gynecological cancer deaths. Despite its fatal outcome, only 20% of ovarian cancers are detected in the early stage. The reason involves a combination of factors — there is no reliable screening for ovarian cancer, and any symptoms of ovarian cancer tend to be vague and easily ignored. Consequently, OC is given the advantage of metastasizing due to ignorance. However, recently, overall survival from ovarian carcinoma has been reported to increase after improvements in treatment (Siegel et al., 2020). Brain Metastases from OC Central nervous system (CNS) metastasis from epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) is uncommon, with an incidence of brain metastases ranging from 1–3% (Zumrut et al., 2020). Moreover, the treatment of brain metastases from ovarian carcinoma is currently ill-defined because of its rarity and the small affected population. The median survival after diagnosis of brain metastases was six months, meaning BMs mainly occurred while the patient was in stages III or VI of OC. Nevertheless, the median interval between diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma and consequent brain metastases is also quite long, approximately 2 years (Piura et al., 2011). However, neuro-cognition and quality of life across therapies are increasingly recognized as essential endpoints for patients as survival continues to increase. This paper is a comprehensive review of brain metastases from ovarian cancer, investigating tumour proliferation, metastatic mechanisms, the role of BRCA 1/2, and several therapy options, such as PARP inhibitors.