Ovarian Cancer - Prognosis

Prognosis

Ovarian cancer usually has a poor prognosis. It is disproportionately deadly because it lacks any clear early detection or screening test, meaning that most cases are not diagnosed until they have reached advanced stages. More than 60% of women presenting with this cancer have stage III or stage IV cancer, when it has already spread beyond the ovaries. Ovarian cancers shed cells into the naturally occurring fluid within the abdominal cavity. These cells can then implant on other abdominal (peritoneal) structures, included the uterus, urinary bladder, bowel and the lining of the bowel wall omentum forming new tumor growths before cancer is even suspected.

The five-year survival rate for all stages of ovarian cancer is 47%. For cases where a diagnosis is made early in the disease, when the cancer is still confined to the primary site, the five-year survival rate is 92.7%.

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecologic cancer and the deadliest in terms of absolute figure. It caused nearly 14,000 deaths in the United States alone in 2010. While the overall five-year survival rate for all cancers combined has improved significantly: 68% for the general population diagnosed in 2001 (compared to 50% in the 1970s), ovarian cancer has a poorer outcome with a 47% survival rate (compared to 38% in the late 1970s).