Each year in the United States more than 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 15,000 women die of the disease. It is estimated that about 21,500 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during 2009. (1) 14,600 deaths are expected to be caused by ovarian cancer in the United States in 2009.
According to the data, the mortality rates for ovarian cancer have not improved in thirty years since the "War on Cancer" was declared. However, other cancers have shown marked reduction in mortality, due to the availability of early detection tests and improved treatments. Unfortunately, this is not the case with ovarian cancer, which is still the deadliest of all gynecologic cancers.
The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program reports that on January 1, 2006 in the United States approximately 176,007 women were alive who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer (including those who had been cured of the disease). (2)
Ovarian Cancer accounts for approximately 3 percent of cancers in women. (4)
While the ninth most common cancer among women, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women, and is the deadliest of gynecologic cancers. Mortality rates are slightly higher for Caucasian women than for minority women.
A woman's lifetime risk:
A woman's lifetime risk of developing invasive ovarian cancer is 1 in 71. (5)
A woman's lifetime risk of dying from invasive ovarian cancer is 1 in 95.
Ovarian cancer primarily develops in women over 45. From 2002 to 2006, the median age at diagnosis was 63. (6)
From 2002 - 2006, the median age of death from ovarian cancer was 71.
Survival:
Ovarian cancer survival rates are much lower than other cancer that affect women.
Overall, the ten-year relative survival rate for ovarian cancer patients is 39%. (7)
The relative five-year survival rate is 46 percent. Survival rates vary depending on the stage of diagnosis.
Women diagnosed at an early stage have a much higher five-year survival rate than those diagnosed at a later stage.
Fewer than 20 percent of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed early.
Staging:
What the stages of ovarian cancer mean
Stage I
The cancer is still contained within the ovary (or ovaries).
Stage IA : Cancer has developed in one ovary, and the tumor is confined to the inside of the ovary. There is no cancer on the outer surface of the ovary. Laboratory examination of washings from the abdomen and pelvis did not find any cancer cells.
Stage IB : Cancer has developed within both ovaries without any tumor on their outer surfaces. Laboratory examination of washings from the abdomen and pelvis did not find any cancer cells.
Stage IC : The cancer is present in one or both ovaries and one or more of the following are present:
- Cancer is on the outer surface of at least one of the ovaries.
- In the case of cystic tumors (fluid-filled tumors), the capsule (outer wall of the tumor) has ruptured (burst)
- Laboratory examination found cancer cells in fluid or washings from the abdomen.
Stage II
The cancer is in one or both ovaries and has involved other organs (such as the uterus, fallopian tubes, bladder, the sigmoid colon, or the rectum) within the pelvis.
Stage IIA : The cancer has spread to or has actually invaded (grown into) the uterus or the fallopian tubes, or both. Laboratory examination of washings from the abdomen did not find any cancer cells.
Stage IIB : The cancer has spread to other nearby pelvic organs such as the bladder, the sigmoid colon, or the rectum. Laboratory examination of fluid from the abdomen did not find any cancer cells.
Stage IIC : The cancer has spread to pelvic organs as in stages IIA or IIB and laboratory examination of the washings from the abdomen found evidence of cancer cells.
Stage III
The cancer involves one or both ovaries, and one or both of the following are present: (1) cancer has spread beyond the pelvis to the lining of the abdomen; (2) cancer has spread to lymph nodes.
Stage IIIA : During the staging operation, the surgeon can see cancer involving the ovary or ovaries, but no cancer is grossly visible (can be seen without using a microscope) in the abdomen and the cancer has not spread to lymph nodes. However, when biopsies are checked under a microscope, tiny deposits of cancer are found in the lining of the upper abdomen.
Stage IIIB : There is cancer in one or both ovaries, and deposits of cancer large enough for the surgeon to see, but smaller than 2 cm (about 3/4 inch) across, are present in the abdomen. Cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes.
Stage IIIC: The cancer is in one or both ovaries, and one or both of the following are present:
- Cancer has spread to lymph nodes (any T, N1, M0)
- Deposits of cancer larger than 2 cm (about 3/4 inch) across are seen in the abdomen (T3c, N0, M0).
Stage IV :
This is the most advanced stage of ovarian cancer. In this stage the cancer has spread to the inside of the liver, the lungs, or other organs located outside of the peritoneal cavity. (The peritoneal cavity, or abdominal cavity is the area enclosed by the peritoneum, a. membrane that lines the inner abdomen and covers most of its organs.). Finding ovarian cancer cells in the fluid around the lungs (called pleural fluid) is also evidence of stage IV disease.
Staging Information provided by the American Cancer Society
References
(1) American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2009.
(2) M.J. Homer, L.A. G. Reis, M. Krapcho, N. Neyman, R. Aminou, N. Howlader, S.F. Altekruse, E.J. Feuer, L. Huang, A Mariotto, B.A. Miller, D.R. Lewis, M.P. Eisner, D.G. Stinchcomb, E.K. Edwards, eds. SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2006. National Cancer Institute, 2009
(3) US Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999-2005 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute, 2009.
(4) Cancer Facts and Figures 2009
(5) American Cancer Society, Detailed Guide: Ovarian Cancer
(6) SEER Cancer Statistics Review 2009
(7) Cancer Facts and Figures 2009