Education and Awareness

One woman out of every 55 will develop ovarian cancer at some point in her lifetime.

Know the symptoms:

Bloating
Feeling of fullness
Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency)
Pelvic or abdominal pain

Statistics:

Risk & Prevalence

• Among women in the US, cancer of the ovary ranks 5th in incidence.
• On 1/1/04: approx. 172,765 women alive who had a history of ovarian cancer.
  (Source)
• Incidence rates are highest among American Indian women, followed by white, Vietnamese, white Hispanic, and Hawaiian women. Rates are lowest among Korean and Chinese women.

• From 2000-2004, the median age at diagnosis for cancer of the ovary was 63 years old.
  (Source)
• 19% of ovary cancer cases are diagnosed while the cancer is still confined to the primary state (localized stage).
  (Source)
• 7% diagnosed after the cancer has spread to regional lymph nodes or directly beyond the primary site.
  (Source)
• 68% are diagnosed after the cancer has already metastasized (distant stage).
  (Source)

• The over-all 5-year relative survival rate for 1996-2003 was 44.9%.
  (Source)
  • 44.6% for white women, 38.2% for black women
• Estimated new cases and deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States in 2008
  (Source)
  :
  • New cases: 21,650
  • Deaths: 15,520
• From 2000-2004, the median age at death for cancer of the ovary was 71 years of age.
  (Source)
• The age-adjusted mortality rate is highest among white women, followed by Hawaiian women and black women.
• Ovarian cancer accounts for approximately 3% of all cancers in women.
• Ovarian cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the US.
• Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality of all cancers of the female reproductive system.
  (Source)

• It is estimated that approximately $2.2 billion is spent on the treatment of ovarian cancer in the US.
• The National Cancer Institute’s investment in ovarian cancer research has increased from $93.5 million in fiscal year 2002 to $95.1 million in fiscal year 2006.
  (Source)

Spentzos, D. et al. (2004). A gene expression profile with independent prognostic significance in epithelial ovarian cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 22, 4700-4710.

Cannistra, S. A. (2004). Medical progress: Cancer of the ovary. New England Journal of Medicine, 351, 2519-2529.

Berkenblit, A. et al. (2003). Phase I trial of docetaxel, carboplatin, and gemcitabine as first-line therapy for patients with high-risk epithelial tumors of mullerian origin. Gynecologic Oncology, 89, 486-493.

Schumer, S. T., & Cannistra S. A. (2003). Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 21, 1180-1189.

Cannistra, S. A. et al. (2003). Progress in the management of gynecologic cancer: Summary consensus statement. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 21, 129s-132s.

Smith, W. M. et al. (2001). Opposite association of two PPARG variants with cancer: Overrepresentation of H449H in endometrial carcinoma cases and under-representation of P12A in renal cell carcinoma cases. Human Genetics, 109, 146-151.

Tung, N. et al. (2000). Phase I trial of carboplatin, paclitaxel, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide with granulocyte stimulating factor as first-line therapy for patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Gynecologic Oncology, 77, 271-277.