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Ovarian Cancer Basic Information

Among women in the United States, ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death, after lung and bronchus, breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers.* Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. But when ovarian cancer is found in its early stages, treatment can be most effective.

Signs and Symptoms

Ovarian cancer often causes signs and symptoms. See your doctor, nurse, or other health care professional if you have any of these signs every day for two weeks or longer and they are not normal for you, especially if they get worse:

• Pain in the pelvic or abdominal area (the area below your stomach and between your hip bones).
• Back pain.
• Being tired all the time.
• Bloating, which is when the area below your stomach swells or feels full.
• A change in your bathroom habits, such as having to pass urine very badly or very often.
• An upset stomach or heartburn.
• Discharge from your vagina that is not normal for you.

Also, see your doctor if you have any bleeding from your vagina that is not normal for you, particularly if you are past menopause. These symptoms may be caused by something other than cancer, but the only way to know is to see your doctor. The earlier ovarian cancer is found and treated, the more likely treatment will be effective.

Risk Factors

There is no way to know for sure if you will get ovarian cancer. Most women get it without being at high risk. However, several factors may increase the chance that you will get ovarian cancer, including if you

• Are middle-aged or older.
• Have close family members (such as your mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother) on either your mother's or your father's side, who have had ovarian cancer.
• Have had breast, uterine, or colorectal cancer.
• Have an Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish background.
• Have never given birth or have had trouble getting pregnant.
• Have endometriosis (a condition where tissue from the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body).

If you have one or more of these factors, it does not mean you will get ovarian cancer. But you should speak with your doctor about your risk.

Steps to Help Prevent Ovarian Cancer

There is no known way to prevent ovarian cancer. But these things may lower your chance of getting ovarian cancer:

• Having used birth control pills for more than five years.
• Having had a tubal ligation (getting your tubes tied), both ovaries removed, or a hysterectomy (an operation in which the uterus, and sometimes the cervix, is removed).
• Having given birth.

Screening Tests

There is no simple and reliable way to test for ovarian cancer in women who do not have any signs or symptoms. The Pap test does not check for ovarian cancer; however, here are steps you can take:

• Pay attention to your body, and know what is normal for you.
• If you notice any changes in your body that are not normal for you and could be a sign of ovarian cancer, talk to your doctor about them and ask about possible causes, such as ovarian cancer.
• Ask your doctor if you should have a test, such as a rectovaginal pelvic exam, a transvaginal ultrasound, or a CA-125 blood test if—
• You have any unexplained signs or symptoms of ovarian cancer. These tests sometimes help find or rule out ovarian cancer.
• You have had breast, uterine, or colorectal cancer; or if a close relative has had ovarian cancer.

Read the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine screening for ovarian cancer.

Treatment

If your doctor says that you have ovarian cancer, ask to be referred to a gynecologic oncologist—a doctor who has been trained to treat cancers of a woman's reproductive system. This doctor will work with you to create a treatment plan.

*Incidence counts cover approximately 98 percent of the U.S. population. Mortality counts cover 100 percent of the U.S. population. Use caution in comparing incidence and mortality counts.