Treatments for borderline ovarian tumours

Last medical review:

Surgery is used to treat borderline ovarian tumours. The type of surgery you have will depend on the stage of the tumour and where it is. Your healthcare team will suggest treatments based on your needs and they'll work with you to develop a treatment plan.

Early stage borderline ovarian tumours

Different types of surgery may be used for early-stage (stage 1) borderline ovarian tumours. The types of surgery that may be done include the following:

  • A unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy removes only the ovary that has the tumour in it and the fallopian tube on the same side. It's done if the tumour hasn't spread outside of the ovary.
  • A bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy removes both ovaries and fallopian tubes.
  • A total hysterectomy removes the uterus and cervix. A bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and total hysterectomy will be done if the tumour has spread outside of the ovary. It can also be done if the tumour hasn't spread outside of the ovary to lower the risk of it coming back.
  • A cystectomy removes only the part of the ovary with the tumour. It's rarely done.

Find out more about surgery for ovarian cancer.

Advanced stage borderline ovarian tumours

Surgery is usually used for advanced (stages 2, 3 and 4) borderline ovarian tumours. The types of surgery that may be done are:

  • a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and a total hysterectomy
  • removal of as much of the tumour as possible (called surgical debulking)

Recurrent borderline ovarian tumours

Recurrent borderline tumours means that the disease has come back after it has been treated. In rare cases, a borderline ovarian tumour can turn into mucinous ovarian carcinoma, a cancerous ovarian tumour.

Surgically removing as much of the cancer as possible (called surgical debulking) is the main treatment for recurrent borderline ovarian tumours.

Clinical trials

Talk to your doctor about clinical trials open to people with ovarian cancer in Canada. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. Find out more about clinical trials.

Expert review and references

  • Tien Le, MD, FRCSC, DABOG
  • American Cancer Society. Ovarian Cancer. 2018. https://www.cancer.org/.
  • Provincial Health Services Authority. Ovary - Epithelial Carcinoma. Vancouver, BC: 2024. https://www.bccancer.bc.ca/.
  • Armbruster SA, Lengyel E. Epithelial ovarian cancer. DeVita VT Jr, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg S. eds. DeVita Hellman and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology . 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer; 2023: Kindle version, [chapter 8], https://read.amazon.ca/?asin=B0BG3DPT4Q&language=en-CA.
  • Filippova O.T, Stasenko M. Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer Treatment (PDQ®) – Health Professional Version. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; https://www.cancer.gov/.

Your trusted source for accurate cancer information

With just $5 from readers like you, we can continue to provide the highest quality cancer information for over 100 types of cancer.

We’re here to ensure easy access to accurate cancer information for you and the millions of people who visit this website every year. But we can’t do it alone.

If everyone reading this gave just $5, we could achieve our goal this month to fund reliable cancer information, compassionate support services and the most promising research. Please give today because every contribution counts. Thank you.

Medical disclaimer

The information that the Canadian Cancer Society provides does not replace your relationship with your doctor. The information is for your general use, so be sure to talk to a qualified healthcare professional before making medical decisions or if you have questions about your health.

We do our best to make sure that the information we provide is accurate and reliable but cannot guarantee that it is error-free or complete.

The Canadian Cancer Society is not responsible for the quality of the information or services provided by other organizations and mentioned on cancer.ca, nor do we endorse any service, product, treatment or therapy.


1-888-939-3333 | cancer.ca | © 2025 Canadian Cancer Society