Ovarian cancer is cancer that begins in the ovaries.
Women are born with a pair of ovaries, which are found on the left and right sides of the uterus.
The ovaries are responsible for storing eggs and producing sex hormones, including estrogen and progesterone.

Prevalence

About 1.3 percent of women will get ovarian cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). That's about one in every 77 women.
The prevalence of ovarian cancer is much higher among women who inherit certain genetic mutations.
In 2015, it's estimated that around 21,300 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer for the first time, according to the NCI, and 14,200 women will die from the disease.
Ovarian cancer is diagnosed most frequently in women between the ages of 55 and 64. Half of all ovarian cancers are found in women over the age of 63.
White women are slightly more likely to develop ovarian cancer than women of other races.

Types of Ovarian Cancer

There are three main types of tumors that start in the ovaries:
  • Epithelial tumors: These tumors start in the cells that cover the outer layer or surface of the ovary. Most ovarian cancers are epithelial tumors.
  • Germ cell tumors: These tumors start in the eggs within the ovaries.
  • Stromal tumors: These tumors start in the cells that hold an ovary together. Stromal cells also release hormones, including estrogen.

Risk Factors


Several factors can increase your risk of getting ovarian cancer, though some women get ovarian cancer without having a high risk.
Risk factors for ovarian cancer include:
  • Age
  • Having a close family member with ovarian, breast, or colon cancer
  • Personal history of breast cancer
  • Having an inherited mutation in the BRCA1or BRCA2 genes
  • (these mutations are rare in the general population, but more likely to occur in women of Ashkenazi Jewish decent)
  • Having never given birth, or giving birth for the first time over the age of 35
  • Use of fertility drugs
  • Having endometriosis
  • Obesity
  • Using estrogen therapy after menopause

Prognosis

Chances for surviving ovarian cancer differ depending on the stage — or how advanced — the cancer is at the time of diagnosis.
Treatment for ovarian cancer is most effective when the disease is caught in its earliest stages, before it spreads from the ovary to other parts of the body.
Doctors often discuss a patient's prognosis, or outlook, in terms of five-year survival rates. That's the percentage of patients who live at least five years (some live much longer) after their cancer is diagnosed.
For all ovarian cancers, the five-year survival rate is 45 percent.
About 92 percent of women live five years or longer if the cancer is found and treated early, before it spreads outside of the ovary.
Few cases of ovarian cancer are found at this early stage.
Women diagnosed before the age of 65 tend to do better than women who are older at the time of diagnosis.
Survival rates can't predict what will happen in any individual woman's case.

Many factors, including general health and how well the cancer responds to treatment, can affect prognosis.