|
What Is Ovarian Cancer?
Ovarian cancer begins when cells in the ovary lose the normal constraints upon their growth. The ovaries are two small organs situated on either side of the uterus (womb), deep within the pelvic cavity. The ovaries produce female hormones and store egg cells, which when fertilized by a sperm cell can result in pregnancy.
Cancer of the ovary is diagnosed in nearly 25,000 women in the United States each year. Ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer death among United States women and has the highest mortality (death) rate of all gynecological cancers. An estimated one in 55 women who reach ages 75 to 79 will develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime. The average age of a woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer is 61.
According to statistics made available by the National Institutes of Health, in the past decade there has been a 30 percent increase in the number of cases of ovarian cancer and an 18 percent increase in the number of deaths attributable to ovarian cancer.
How does ovarian cancer develop?
The etiology or cause of ovarian cancer is not yet understood. Several theories have been proposed to explain how the disease occurs. According to one theory, repeated uninterrupted ovulation causes the surfaces of the ovaries to undergo cellular changes that lead to the development of cancer. Another theory surmises that increased levels of pituitary hormones, not cellular changes, are responsible for the cancer. Still another theory speculates that alterations in blood flow to the ovaries play a role in cancer development.
|
External Resources:
Ovarian Cancer: Screening, Treatment, and Follow-up. Washington, DC: NIH Consensus Statement; April 5-7; 12(3): 1-30.
|
Ovarian Epithelial Treatment Information National Cancer Institute Database. July 1999. PDQ publication.
|
What You Need To Know about Ovarian Cancer. Publication of the National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: revised October 1993. NIH Publication 94-1561.
|
Screening Summary for Health Professionals: Ovarian Cancer National Cancer Institute Database. July 1999.
|
The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
|
|
This article was reviewed by Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology and Biological Chemistry
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
01/2003
Return to the previous page
This article was published on
1999-09-03
This article was reviewed on
2003-02-03
|
