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Objective. To investigate whether laparoscopy can be considered as adequate and reliable as standard laparotomy in predicting optimal cytoreduction (RT ≤ 1 cm) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Methods. From March to November 2003, 95 patients with suspected advanced ovarian or peritoneal cancer have been evaluated. Thirty-one cases were excluded due to an anesthesiological class of risk ASA III–IV (51.6%) and for the presence of a large size mass reaching the xiphoid (48.4%). Sixty-four patients completed the study. All patients were submitted to preoperative clinico-radiological evaluation and then to both laparoscopy and standard longitudinal laparotomy, sequentially. Some specific preoperatively defined parameters were analyzed during each procedure in order to obtain the most accurate evaluation on the possibility to get an optimal cytoreduction. Results. The overall accuracy rate of laparoscopy in assessing optimal cytoreduction was 90%. The negative predictive value (NPV) of the clinical–radiologic evaluation corresponded to 73%, whereas in no case was the judgment of unresectable disease obtained by laparoscopy changed by the laparotomic approach (NPV 100%). On the contrary, an optimal debulking was achievable in 34 of 39 cases (87%) selected as completely resectable by explorative laparoscopy. Conclusions. Laparoscopy can be considered super imposable to standard longitudinal laparotomy in identifying not optimally resectable advanced ovarian cancer patients.