What are the key statistics about ovarian cancer?

The American Cancer Society most recent estimates for ovarian cancer in the United States are for 2012:

• About 22,280 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
• About 15,500 women will die from ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. It ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in women. A woman's risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 71. Her lifetime chance of dying from ovarian cancer is about 1 in 95. (These statistics don’t count low malignant potential ovarian tumors.)

This cancer mainly develops in older women. About half of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 60 years or older. It is more common in white women that African-American women.

The rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling over the past 20 years.