Between January 1975 and December 1983 in the Cancer Institute, Montpellier, France, regional surgery (RS) was performed on 18 Stage III and 3 Stage IV patients (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics [FIGO]) with histologically proven cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary. All patients were placed into one of three nonrandomized groups: Group A (9 patients), RS at first-look surgery; Group B (7 patients), RS at second-look surgery; and Group C (5 patients), RS at third-look surgery. Group A was given adjuvant chemotherapy, whereas Group B and C patients underwent nonregional surgery at first- or second-look operation, and received chemotherapy supplemented in some Group C cases by radiotherapy before RS. The adjuvant chemotherapy consisted of: cyclophosphamide plus Alkeran (mephalan) plus 5-fluorouracil (the first 7 patients) and Adriamycin (doxorubicin) plus cisplatin plus hexamethylmelamine (14 additional patients). RS consisted of basic procedures--abdominal hysterectomy; bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy; omentectomy--and specific procedures--abdominal and pelvic peritonectomy; either total or partial colectomy; jejunoilectomy, leaving at least 150 cm of the jejunum; and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection aimed at maximal cytoreduction of tumor mass. There was no operative mortality. The overall postoperative morbidity was 33.3% (seven patients) due to wound sepsis. The survival from the beginning of treatment (absolute survival [AS]) and survival after RS (RSS) were compared. In Group A (AS = RSS) the probability of survival at 112 months (6/9 patients are still alive) was 0.52. In Groups B and C the median survival times (AS and RSS) were 37 and 17 months and 18 and 1 month, respectively. The difference in AS among the three groups of patients was not statistically significant (log-rank test), whereas the RSS was statistically significant between Group A versus Groups B, C, and Groups B and C combined (P less than 0.05).