Gynecologic Cancers
The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute provides compassionate, state-of-the-art care for women’s reproductive cancers. Your care team will work with you on a personalized treatment plan for the best-possible outcome. We offer:
- Team-based care with world-class providers
- Care in our welcoming Center for Women’s Health
- Leading-edge technology, such as minimally invasive robotic surgery and Oregon’s only Mobetron radiation therapy
- Advanced genetic testing and targeted therapy
- Access to clinical trials and research discoveries
- Fertility and sexual health specialists
- Full support services, including complementary medicine
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Our excellence
Nationally ranked: The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is one of the nation’s top cancer centers. It's the only Comprehensive Cancer Center — the National Cancer Institute’s highest designation for research excellence — between Seattle and Sacramento.
Expert diagnosis: Gynecologic cancers can be difficult to detect, but they are often highly treatable if caught early. Your care team will use the latest imaging, genetic tests and tissue analysis to pinpoint your cancer and see if it has spread.
Precision treatment: We aim to find the most effective treatment for your specific type of cancer and biological traits. Options include precise radiation therapy, robotic surgery and targeted therapy. Targeted therapy can stop the growth of cancer cells with little damage to normal cells.
Top minds together
Our specialists work together to provide the most advanced care for all types of gynecologic cancer, including rare types.
Many specialists: Your care team may include:
- A gynecologic oncologist (a doctor who treats women’s reproductive cancers)
- A radiation oncologist (a doctor who treats cancer with radiation therapy)
- Genetic counselors
- Fertility specialists
- Sexual health experts
- Physician assistants and nurses.
Weekly tumor board meetings: Our specialists meet every week to share their expertise and to discuss each patient one by one. They review scans and test results, then develop treatment recommendations together. This ensures that every option and clinical trial can be considered for you.
Our providers are:
- Experts in the newest medications and radiation therapy that target cancer cells while mostly sparing healthy ones.
- Experienced in complex surgeries using the latest minimally invasive, robotic techniques.
- Researchers with access to the latest discoveries and clinical trials.
The latest technology
Our state-of-the-art technology includes:
- Precise intraoperative radiation therapy with a Mobetron device. This delivers a dose of high-energy beams directly to the tumor area during surgery. OHSU is the only hospital in Oregon and southwest Washington and among fewer than 20 in the U.S. to offer this.
- Precision robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot for smaller incisions, less pain and quicker recovery times.
- Diagnostic imaging combining MRI and CT scans for highly detailed, cross-section and 3D views.
- Advanced genetic testing to guide treatment for every ovarian cancer patient and for others as appropriate.
Support services
We support you through every phase of your care. We offer you:
- Fertility specialists with expertise in cancer care.
- Survivorship services to help you adjust to life after active cancer treatment and to help you get expert follow-up care.
- Mentoring from the national Woman to Woman program, pairing patients with survivors for one-on-one support.
- A sexual health program for women affected by cancer.
- Social workers to help with emotional, financial and other issues.
Visit our Patient and Family Resources page to find links to all our support services.
Clinical trials and research
Our doctors are leading national gynecologic cancer researchers. Our breakthroughs and those of others at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute are shaping cancer care in our clinic and across the country. Our research and innovations include:
Clinical trials: Our doctors are studying several new therapies and approaches to gynecologic cancers. Your care team will talk with you about whether a clinical trial is right for you.
Ovarian Cancer Registry: OHSU is home to a collection of data plus blood and tissue samples from more than 500 women for research. Voluntary participants help scientists make discoveries. Participants also receive updates on the latest advances. Learn more about this and other cancer registries, including how to join.
Targeted and immune therapies: Our team is at the leading edge of combining targeted medications that stop cancer cells with a broader approach using the immune system.
DNA repair: OHSU researchers are working to identify more genetic mutations in ovarian cancer patients who could benefit from new treatments that help repair damaged DNA.
Early detection: Our research team is investigating DNA released by tumors into the blood to help detect the cancer early. The Knight Cancer Institute has also begun a major project — Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center, or CEDAR — to find cancers earlier.
Native American women’s health: A study of women’s health in Native American communities aims to prevent gynecologic cancer in Pacific Northwest tribes.