Bipolar Disorder Treatments and Ovarian Cancer: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE: We reviewed literature on drugs for bipolar disorders (BD), utilized in ovarian cancer (OC). METHOD: We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines in completion of this systematic review. RESULTS: We identified 73 papers. Thirty-two studies were finally included. BD is rarely diagnosed in OC patients. Limited finding from case reports is available. Drugs used to treat BD (mainly lithium and valproic acid) have been extensively studied in add-on to chemotherapy for treatment-resistant OC cells or in animal models, with promising results in vitro but not in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical underestimation of BD in OC has leaded to the almost complete absence of evidences for a soundly based clinical guidance in this field. There is a urgent need for a systematic multi-disciplinary approach to OC.