Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 21,550 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during 2009. Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in women.

A woman's risk of getting invasive ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 71. Her lifetime chance of dying from invasive ovarian cancer is about 1 in 95. (These statistics do not count low malignant potential ovarian tumors.)

This cancer mainly develops in older women. Around two-thirds of women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 55 or older. It is slightly more common in white women that African-American women.

The ovarian cancer incidence rate has been slowly falling over the past 20 years. The incidence rate is a precise way for scientists to describe how common or rare a disease is and 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 14,600 deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States during 2009.

About 3 in 4 women with ovarian cancer survive at least 1 year after diagnosis. Almost half (45%) of women with ovarian cancer are still alive at least 5 years after diagnosis (this is called the 5-year survival rate). Women younger than 65 have better 5-year survival rates than older women. If ovarian cancer is found (and treated) before the cancer has spread outside the ovary, the 5-year survival rate is 93%. However, less than 20% of all ovarian cancer is found at this early stage.

Last Medical Review: 01/19/2008
Last Revised: 05/12/2009