An International Assessment of Ovarian Cancer Incidence and Mortality

Conclusions

Ovarian cancer survival has shown modest improvement from a statistical perspective in the U.S. However, it is difficult to ascertain how clinically relevant these improvements are at the population or patient level.

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Highlights

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We assessed the global epidemiology of ovarian cancer and examined changes in worldwide incidence and mortality.

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There was a modest decrease in incidence and significant increases in 12-, 24-, and 60-month survival in the US.

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There is wide variation in the worldwide incidence of ovarian cancer, with the lowest rates consistently in China.

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Objective

To assess and characterize the temporal variation in ovarian cancer incidence and mortality by age within countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Methods/Materials

Data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program in the United States (U.S.) were used to assess ovarian cancer incidence rates (1998−2008) and mortality rates, (1988−2007 for 12-month survival, 1988−2006 for 24-month survival, and 1988−2003 for 60-month survival), stratified by age at diagnosis. Data from GLOBOCAN  (link = 2008 data)were used to calculate country-specific incidence rates for 2010 and 2020 and case-fatality rates for 2010.

Results

A statistically significant decrease in Annual Percent Change (APC) of ovarian cancer incidence was observed in the U.S. for all women (-1.03%), among women who were diagnosed at < 65 years of age (-1.09%) and among women who were diagnosed at ≥ 65 years of age (-0.95%). There was a statistically significant increase in the observed APC for survival at 12-months (0.19%), 24-months (0.58%), and 60-months (0.72%) for all women; however, 5-year survival for advanced stage (III or IV) disease was low at less than 50% for women < 65 years and less than 30% for women ≥ 65 years. Global results showed a wide range in ovarian cancer incidence rates, with China exhibiting the lowest rates and the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom exhibiting the highest rates.

Conclusions

Ovarian cancer survival has shown modest improvement from a statistical perspective in the U.S. However, it is difficult to ascertain how clinically relevant these improvements are at the population or patient level.