About Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer develops in the cells and tissues of the ovaries, a pair of reproductive glands that produce eggs in women. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 22,000 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States in 2008, and more than 15,000 women died of the disease. Prognosis for ovarian cancer is considerably better if the disease is caught early. Therefore, women who experience any possible symptoms of ovarian cancer should speak with their doctors as soon as possible.

Identification

• Early stages of ovarian cancer are often asymptomatic, but advanced stages may cause pain or pressure in the pelvis, abdomen, back or legs; a swollen abdomen; gastrointestinal symptoms; shortness of breath; fatigue; frequent urination; or abnormal vaginal bleeding.

Risk Factors

• Some women are more likely to develop ovarian cancer than others, including those with family histories of ovarian, colon or breast cancer; those over age 55; women who have never been pregnant and women being treated with estrogen therapy.

Types

• There are two main types of ovarian cancers: ovarian epithelial carcinomas, which begin on the surface of the ovaries, and malignant germ cell tumors, which begin in the cells of the eggs.

Prevention/Solution

• Treatment of ovarian cancer typically involves surgery, radiation, systemic chemotherapy and intraperitoneal chemotherapy, a type of therapy that involves administration of chemotherapy medications through a tube directly into the abdomen.

Warning

• If not caught and treated early enough, ovarian cancer can invade nearby organs, spread through the lymphatic system or bloodstream to distant areas of the body or shed tumor cells that deposit on the surface of nearby tissues and develop into new tumors.