|
Ovarian cancer begins when cells in the ovary lose the normal constraints upon their growth. The ovaries are two small organs situated on either side of the uterus (womb), deep within the pelvic cavity. The ovaries produce female hormones and store egg cells, which when fertilized by a sperm cell can result in pregnancy. Cancer of the ovary is diagnosed in nearly 20,200 women in the United States each year. Ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer death among American women and has the highest death rate of all gynecological cancers. An estimated one in 55 women who reach ages 75 to 79 will develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime.
The average age of a woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer is 61. According to statistics made available by the National Institutes of Health, in the past decade there has been a 30 percent increase in the number of cases of ovarian cancer and an 18 percent increase in the number of deaths attributable to ovarian cancer.
How does ovarian cancer develop?
The cause of ovarian cancer is not yet understood. Several theories have been proposed to explain how the disease occurs. According to one theory, repeated uninterrupted ovulation causes the surfaces of the ovaries to undergo cellular changes that lead to the development of cancer. Another theory surmises that increased levels of pituitary hormones, not cellular changes, are responsible for the cancer. Still another theory speculates that alterations in blood flow to the ovaries play a role in cancer development.
|
Related Articles
|
|
External Source
 |
Dollinger M, Rosenbaum, EH, Tempero M., et al. Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy, Fourth Edition, Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2002.
|
|
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
Return to the previous page
|
