Weight change therapy as a potential treatment for end-stage ovarian carcinoma

Abstract

Patient: Female, 41 FINAL DIAGNOSIS: Ovarian carcinoma Symptoms: Ascites • hepatomegaly • weight loss

Medication: - Clinical Procedure: - Specialty: Oncology.

Objective: Unusual or unexpected effect of treatment.

Background: The aim of this case report is to present the results of treatment of end-stage ovarian carcinoma in a 41-year-old women using weight loss therapy.

Case report: We describe the case of a female aged 41 years with epithelial invasive ovarian cancer of III-IV stage, T3N2M1. Concurrent diseases were: abdominal carcinomatosis; hepatomegaly; ascites; condition after laparocentesis and skin-abdominal fistula; condition after 6 courses of neo-adjuvant polychemotherapy; hypertension II stage, risk factor of 3-4; dyslipidemia; and metabolic syndrome. A weight loss method based on a very-low-calorie diet and physical activity was used. Body weight was reduced from 74 kg to 53 due to loss of adipose tissue after 6 months of therapy. At the same time, the percentages of water and muscle tissue were increased significantly. While overweight was reducing, clinical, laboratory, and instrumental results were improving. As a result of the weight loss therapy, about ≈100 mm-sized ovarian cancer was transformed into smaller-sized ovarian cysts.

Conclusions: An analgesic effect was also achieved without use of narcotic or non-narcotic analgesics. These cyto-reversible processes were documented by laboratory and instrumental data. The mechanisms behind these differences remain to be elucidated. Future research with a larger study cohort and longer follow-up is needed to further investigate the role of caloric restriction diet in cancer cell changes in ovarian cancer.

Keywords: Metabolic Syndrome X; Ovarian Neoplasms; Weight Loss.

Figure 1.

Ultrasound images of the right (A) and left (B) ovaries on August 24, 2012.

Figure 2.

Ultrasound images of the right and left ovaries on November 23, 2012.

Figure 3.

Ultrasound images of the right and left ovaries on September 12, 2013.