Noteworthy Numbers: Ovarian Cancer

TON - December 2022 Vol 15, No 6

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.1,2 It also causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.1 A woman’s risk for developing ovarian cancer during her lifetime is approximately 1 in 78, and her lifetime risk for dying from the disease is approximately 1 in 108.2 Patients with ovarian cancer have nonspecific symptoms and because of a lack of detection tests, only approximately 20% of all cases are found early in stage I or stage II.3 The following provides key statistics and other helpful information regarding ovarian cancer.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 19,880 women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022, and approximately 12,810 women will die from the disease in the same year.2

The risk for developing ovarian cancer increases with age. Ovarian cancer is rare in women aged <40 years. Most ovarian cancers develop after menopause. Approximately 50% of all ovarian cancers are found in women aged ≥63 years.2

Approximately 85% to 90% of malignant ovarian cancers are epithelial ovarian carcinomas. The main types of epithelial tumors include serous, endometrioid, clear-cell, mucinous, mixed tumors, and several rare cancers, including Brenner tumors.4 Germ-cell malignancies, which comprise a small percentage of ovarian cancer cases, typically occur in patients aged 10 to 29 years.4

Up to 25% of ovarian cancers are part of family cancer syndromes resulting from mutations in certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2; hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer; Peutz-Jeghers syndrome; and MUTYH-associated polyposis.2

The overall 5-year survival rate for patients with ovarian cancer is approximately 49%, although this rate increases to 93% for patients with localized disease.2 The age range associated with the highest percentage of death is between 65 and 74 years.5

Oral contraceptives decrease the risk for developing ovarian cancer for average-risk women and BRCA mutation carriers. Women who use oral contraceptives for >5 years have an approximately 50% lower risk for developing ovarian cancer compared with women who never used oral contraceptives.2

The past decade has ushered in a greater understanding of the hereditary component of ovarian cancer, which has helped to personalize prevention and early detection efforts and increased the availability of new, more effective treatments.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ovarian cancer. Updated August 31, 2022. www.cdc.gov/cancer/ovarian/. Accessed November 21, 2022.
  2. American Cancer Society. Ovarian cancer. Updated January 12, 2022. www.cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer.html. Accessed November 21, 2022.
  3. National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. What is ovarian cancer? https://ovarian.org/about-ovarian-cancer/what-is-ovarian-cancer/. Accessed November 21, 2022.
  4. Cancer.Net. Ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer. Updated February 2022. www.cancer.net/cancer-types/ovarian-cancer/view-all. Accessed November 21, 2022.
  5. National Cancer Institute. Cancer stat facts: ovarian cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/ovary.html. Accessed November 21, 2022.

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