open access - May 2014: Ovarian Cancer (Cancer Network)

open access

Overview

Despite the fact that it is highly curable if diagnosed early, ovarian cancer causes more mortality in American women each year than all other gynecologic malignancies combined. An estimated 21,980 new cases of this cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2014, and about 14,270 women will die.

Notable advances in chemotherapy and surgery over the past several decades have begun to translate into improved survival. According to American Cancer Society data, the 5-year overall survival rate from ovarian cancer has increased significantly, from 37% in the mid-1970s to 46% in the mid-2000s (P < .05). Recent data from the National Cancer Institute show a similar increase in stage-specific survival. It is expected that data from the current decade, reflecting continued improvements in chemotherapy and surgery, will continue this trend.
This chapter will focus on epithelial cancers of the ovaries, which account for about 90% of ovarian malignancies......