Ovarian cancer accounts for four percent of all cancers diagnosed in women. One in seventy women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer at some time in her life, and one out of every hundred will die from it. Gynecology studies indicate that ovarian cancer causes more deaths than cervical or endometrial cancers combined. Symptoms do not appear until the disease is well advanced, which may help account for the... Read more >
Due to a lack of noticeable early symptoms, ovarian cancer is often called a "silent killer." Only after the disease has spread out of the ovary do specific ovarian cancer symptoms develop. In the early stages of the disease, vague symptoms such as fatigue, nausea and indigestion may be dismissed or misdiagnosed as other, less serious conditions, such as the "flu." Fatigue, Nausea and Other Early Stage... Read more >
A number of causes of cancer of the ovaries have been identified, ranging from age and family genetics to prolonged use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). A woman's reproductive history may also play a role in determining ovarian cancer risk levels. Most clinical studies into causes of cancer of the ovaries have examined the most common form of ovarian cancer. Epithelial carcinoma begins on the surface... Read more >
Primary and Secondary Ovarian Cancers Ovarian cancer is not a single disease. More than thirty different carcinomas can affect the ovaries. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ovarian tumors based on their cell type: epithelial, germ cell, stromal, and metastatic. Epithelial Ovarian Tumors Epithelial tumors are the most commonly diagnosed ovarian cancers. They are abnormal masses that usually develop... Read more >
Ovarian cancer stages are used to describe the spread and aggressiveness of a tumor. Staging occurs after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is made. The stage and grade of a tumor are important prognostic factors that help determine the outcome of the cancer and treatment options. Surgical Cancer Staging and Laparotomy Cancer staging requires a surgical technique called a laparotomy. During a laparotomy a surgical... Read more >
When detected early enough, ovarian cancer has a ninety percent cure rate. A patient is considered cured if she survives disease-free after five years. Unfortunately, only a quarter of ovarian cancer is diagnosed at Stage I. The majority of cases are diagnosed at Stage III or IV, when the disease is well advanced. These sobering statistics indicate the need for some form of early ovarian cancer detection... Read more >
Because of an absence of early symptoms, many ovarian cancer tumors are first detected during routine pelvic examinations. The examining doctor may detect an unusual ovarian mass during palpation. This is not necessarily cause for alarm: the majority of ovary masses are ovarian cysts, which often disappear without treatment. Women in their childbearing years often develop benign ovarian cysts as a result of... Read more >
Although the five-year survival rate for Stage I ovarian cancer is over 95 percent, very few cases are diagnosed in their early stages. The survival rate for more advanced cases drops to somewhere between twenty and thirty percent. Current surgical and chemotherapeutic options for ovarian cancer treatment are simply not effective enough to combat advanced cases of the disease. Better ovarian cancer... Read more >
ResourcesArmstrong, D. (2002). Relapsed ovarian cancer: challenges and management strategies for a chronic disease. The Oncologist7 (suppl. 5), 20-28.Beers, M. H., & Berkow, R. (ed). Ovarian cancer [electronic version]. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 17th Edition. Merck Research Laboratories, NJ, 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2003, fromwww.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section18/chapter241/241b.htm.Berek J... Read more >
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