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Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 22,430 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during 2007. Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in women.
A woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is 1.5% or about 1 in 67. Her lifetime chance of dying from ovarian cancer is 1.05% or 1 in 95. The risk of developing and dying from ovarian cancer is higher for white women than black women.
This is a cancer that mainly develops in older women. Around two-thirds of women are 55 or older. It is slightly more common in white women that African-American women.
The ovarian cancer incidence rate has decreased by about 0.7% per year since 1985. The incidence rate is a precise way for scientists to describe how common or rare a disease is. The ovarian cancer incidence rate is defined as the number of new cases diagnosed each year per 100,000 women.
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. It is estimated that there will be about 15,280 deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States during 2007.
About 76% of women with ovarian cancer survive 1 year after diagnosis, and 45% survive longer than 5 years after diagnosis. Women younger than age 65 have better 5-year survival rates than older women. If diagnosed and treated while the cancer has not spread outside the ovary, the 5-year survival rate is 93%. However, only 19% of all ovarian cancers are found at this early stage.
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