OVARIAN CANCER

Exploring pathways and proteins implicated in ovarian cancer cell growth,
survival and motility as promising therapeutic targets.

324,398

estimated new cases of ovarian cancer globally.¹

55%

of U.S diagnoses made after disease has metastasized.²

50.9%

5-year survival in U.S. women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.²

INCIDENCE & MORTALITY

Ovarian cancer is the 18th most often diagnosed cancer globally, representing ~1.6% of all new cancer cases overall.¹

Approximately 87% of new cases are diagnosed in women ≥45 years of age.²
Median age at diagnosis is 63 years.²

Worldwide, approximately 207,000 women died from ovarian cancer during 2022, representing 2.1% of all cancer deaths.¹

Median age at death is 71 years.¹⁹
Overall 5-year survival in the US is 50.9%. While 5-year relative survival is 91.9% for the 19% of women diagnosed with localized disease, only 31.4% of women will survive ≥5 years when diagnosed with distant metastases (55% all of new cases).¹⁹

The rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling an average of 2.7% each year over 2012-2021 and age-adjusted death rates have been decreasing ~2.4% per year over the 2013-2022 period.² However, ovarian cancer remains the top 20 leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States (18^th) and globally (14^th).^1,3

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer have an increased risk for the disease.² It has been estimated that ~22% of the risk of ovarian cancer is attributable to heritable factors. Germline, or inherited, genetics may play a role over the entire course of ovarian cancer, from its inception to the response of patients to chemotherapy.⁴ Patients who have germline mutations in either BRCA1/2 are at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. In a seminal paper analyzing over 8000 unselected cases of breast or ovarian cancer, the average cumulative risk of developing ovarian cancer with a BRCA1/2 mutation was 39% and 11% respectively.⁵

All types of ovarian cancer are characterized by early peritoneal spread of metastases.⁴^,6 The vast majority of ovarian cancers are high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs).⁶ These are aggressive tumors and account for approximately 70% of deaths.^5,6

The rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling an average of 2.7% each year over 2012-2021 and age-adjusted death rates have been decreasing ~2.4% per year over the 2013-2022 period.² However, ovarian cancer remains the top 20 leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States (18^th) and globally (14^th).^1,3

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer have an increased risk for the disease.² It has been estimated that ~22% of the risk of ovarian cancer is attributable to heritable factors. Germline, or inherited, genetics may play a role over the entire course of ovarian cancer, from its inception to the response of patients to chemotherapy.⁴ Patients who have germline mutations in either BRCA1/2 are at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. In a seminal paper analyzing over 8000 unselected cases of breast or ovarian cancer, the average cumulative risk of developing ovarian cancer with a BRCA1/2 mutation was 39% and 11% respectively.⁵

All types of ovarian cancer are characterized by early peritoneal spread of metastases.⁴^,6 The vast majority of ovarian cancers are high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs).⁶ These are aggressive tumors and account for approximately 70% of deaths.^5,6

The rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling an average of 2.7% each year over 2012-2021 and age-adjusted death rates have been decreasing ~2.4% per year over the 2013-2022 period.² However, ovarian cancer remains the top 20 leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States (18^th) and globally (14^th).^1,3

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer have an increased risk for the disease.² It has been estimated that ~22% of the risk of ovarian cancer is attributable to heritable factors. Germline, or inherited, genetics may play a role over the entire course of ovarian cancer, from its inception to the response of patients to chemotherapy.⁴ Patients who have germline mutations in either BRCA1/2 are at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. In a seminal paper analyzing over 8000 unselected cases of breast or ovarian cancer, the average cumulative risk of developing ovarian cancer with a BRCA1/2 mutation was 39% and 11% respectively.⁵

All types of ovarian cancer are characterized by early peritoneal spread of metastases.⁴^,6 The vast majority of ovarian cancers are high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs).⁶ These are aggressive tumors and account for approximately 70% of deaths.^5,6

The rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling an average of 2.7% each year over 2012-2021 and age-adjusted death rates have been decreasing ~2.4% per year over the 2013-2022 period.² However, ovarian cancer remains the top 20 leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States (18^th) and globally (14^th).^1,3

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer have an increased risk for the disease.² It has been estimated that ~22% of the risk of ovarian cancer is attributable to heritable factors. Germline, or inherited, genetics may play a role over the entire course of ovarian cancer, from its inception to the response of patients to chemotherapy.⁴ Patients who have germline mutations in either BRCA1/2 are at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. In a seminal paper analyzing over 8000 unselected cases of breast or ovarian cancer, the average cumulative risk of developing ovarian cancer with a BRCA1/2 mutation was 39% and 11% respectively.⁵

All types of ovarian cancer are characterized by early peritoneal spread of metastases.⁴^,6 The vast majority of ovarian cancers are high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs).⁶ These are aggressive tumors and account for approximately 70% of deaths.^5,6

The rate at which women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer has been slowly falling an average of 2.7% each year over 2012-2021 and age-adjusted death rates have been decreasing ~2.4% per year over the 2013-2022 period.² However, ovarian cancer remains the top 20 leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States (18^th) and globally (14^th).^1,3

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer have an increased risk for the disease.² It has been estimated that ~22% of the risk of ovarian cancer is attributable to heritable factors. Germline, or inherited, genetics may play a role over the entire course of ovarian cancer, from its inception to the response of patients to chemotherapy.⁴ Patients who have germline mutations in either BRCA1/2 are at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. In a seminal paper analyzing over 8000 unselected cases of breast or ovarian cancer, the average cumulative risk of developing ovarian cancer with a BRCA1/2 mutation was 39% and 11% respectively.⁵

All types of ovarian cancer are characterized by early peritoneal spread of metastases.⁴^,6 The vast majority of ovarian cancers are high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs).⁶ These are aggressive tumors and account for approximately 70% of deaths.^5,6

Bray F, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(3):229-263. NCI. Cancer Stat Facts: Ovarian Cancer.
NCI. Cancer Stat Facts: Ovarian Cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/ovary.html. Accessed July 2024.
Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2017. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;67(1):7-30.
Bolton KL, et al. Role of common genetic variants in ovarian cancer susceptibility and outcome: progress to date from the ovarian cancer association consortium (OCAC). Journal of Internal Medicine. 2012;271:366–378.
Neff RT, et al. BRCA mutation in ovarian cancer: testing, implications and treatment considerations. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2017 Aug; 9(8): 519–531.
PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 04/16/2024. https://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/hp/ovarian-epithelial-treatment-pdq. Accessed July 2024.
Kurman RJ. Origin and molecular pathogenesis of ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma. Ann Oncol. 2013;24(suppl 10):x16-x21.
Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network. Integrated genomic analyses of ovarian carcinoma. Nature. 2011;474(7353):609-615.
Dubeau L, Drapkin R. Coming into focus: the nonovarian origins of ovarian cancer. Ann Oncol. 2013;24(suppl 8):viii28-viii35.
Szajnik M, Czystowska-Kuźmicz M, Elishaev E, Whiteside TL. Biological markers of prognosis, response to therapy and outcome in ovarian carcinoma. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2016;16(8):811-826.
Ottevanger PB. Ovarian cancer stem cells more questions than answers. Semin Cancer Biol. 2017;44:67-71.
BRCA Gene Mutations: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing Fact Sheet - NCI. Updated 11/19/2020. Accessed July 2024.
Nelson HD, Fu R, Goddard K, et al. Risk assessment, genetic counseling, and genetic testing for BRCA-related cancer: systematic review to update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation. Evidence Synthesis No. 101. AHRQ Publication No. 12-05164-EF-1. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2013.
Prat J; for the FIGO Committee on Gynecologic Oncology. FIGO's staging classification for cancer of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum: abridged republication. J Gynecol Oncol. 2015;26(2):87-89.
Wysham WZ, Mhawech-Fauceglia P, Li H, et al. BRCAness profile of sporadic ovarian cancer predicts disease recurrence. PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e30042.
Lim JSJ, Tan DSP. Understanding resistance mechanisms and expanding the therapeutic utility of PARP inhibitors. Cancers (Basel). 2017;9(8):1-4.
Farmer H, et al. Targeting the DNA repair defect in BRCA mutant cells as a therapeutic strategy. Nature. 2005;434:917–921.
Varas-Godoy M, Rice G, Illanes SE. The crosstalk between ovarian cancer stem cell niche and the tumor microenvironment. Stem Cells Int. 2017;2017:5263974.