We report the results of surgical excision prior to chemotherapy in 180 cases of advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma. In this retrospective study, the mean survival rate at 5 years was 22 percent. It was 40 percent in patient with stage III carcinoma, divided into 60 percent for micronodular carcinomas (stages IIIa + b) and 30 percent for macronodular carcinomas (stage IIIc). However, in cases with optimal initial excision the overall survival rate was the same in patients with macronodular carcinoma as in those with micronodular carcinoma. This finding suggests that surgical excision itself has a favourable effect on the prognosis of this disease.