Ovarian Cancer

Introduction: Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian Cancer: Cancer of the ovaries. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Ovarian Cancer is available below.

Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

• No early symptoms - there are no major symptoms until late in development
• Vague symptoms
• Abdominal symptoms - often from the spread of ovarian cancer to abdominal areas
  • Abdominal swelling
  • Abdominal bloating

See full list of 33 symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Ovarian Cancer:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Ovarian Cancer

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Ovarian Cancer

• Physical exam
• Pelvic exam
• Ultrasound
• Lower GI series
• CT scan

See full list of 10 diagnostic tests for Ovarian Cancer

Wrongly Diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer?

• Misdiagnosis of Ovarian Cancer
• Failure to diagnose Ovarian Cancer
• Underlying causes of Ovarian Cancer (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Ovarian Cancer

Misdiagnosis and Ovarian Cancer

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Read more about Misdiagnosis and Ovarian Cancer

Causes of Ovarian Cancer

• Lynch II syndrome
• Hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome
• Hereditary ovarian cancer syndrome

Read more about causes of Ovarian Cancer

More information about causes of Ovarian Cancer:

• Underlying causes of Ovarian Cancer
• Ovarian Cancer as a complication caused by other conditions
• Ovarian Cancer as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Ovarian Cancer

Treatments for Ovarian Cancer

• Surgery
  • Hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
  • Surgical lymph node removal
  • Surgical tumor debulking
• Chemotherapy

See full list of 11 treatments for Ovarian Cancer

Videos for Ovarian Cancer

Patient Surveys for Ovarian Cancer

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Ovarian Cancer
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Ovarian Cancer

Prognosis for Ovarian Cancer: Ovarian cancer is a particularly aggressive cancer and is rarely detected in its early stages.

More about prognosis of Ovarian Cancer

Reseach about Ovarian Cancer

Visit our research pages for current research about Ovarian Cancer treatments.

Clinical Trials for Ovarian Cancer

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Ovarian Cancer include:

• A Safety and Effectiveness Study of Aroplatin in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Aroplatin (Liposomal NDDP, L-NDDP)
• OVCA-NAC-P2: Study of Chemotherapy Followed by Cytoreductive Surgery for Ovarian, Tubal and Peritoneal Cancers: JCOG0206 - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Paclitaxel and Carboplatin)
• Safety and Efficacy Study of the Trifunctional Antibody Catumaxomab to Treat Recurrent Symptomatic Malignant Ascites - This study is not yet open for patient recruitment (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - catumaxomab
• ZK-Epo Given With Carboplatin in Patients With Recurrent Ovarian Cancer - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - SH-Y03757A (ZK-Epothilone; ZK-219477) with carboplatin
• Tissue Bank of Biological Specimens From Patients With Gynecologic Disease - This study is not yet open for patient recruitment (Current: 23 Nov 2006)

See full list of 412 Clinical Trials for Ovarian Cancer

Prevention of Ovarian Cancer

Prevention information for Ovarian Cancer has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Ovarian Cancer.

• Prophylactic ovary removal - early removal of the ovaries; usually only considered for very strongly inherited subtypes.

Read more about prevention of Ovarian Cancer

Statistics for Ovarian Cancer

• Medical statistics for Ovarian Cancer
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Ovarian Cancer
• Death and Mortality statistics for Ovarian Cancer
• Society statistics for Ovarian Cancer

Types of Ovarian Cancer

• Epithelial ovarian cancers - about 85-90% of cases
  • Serous cell epithelial ovarian cancer
  • Mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer
  • Endometrioid epithelial ovarian cancer
  • Clear cell epithelial ovarian cancer

See full list of 12 Types of Ovarian Cancer

Stories from Users Related to Ovarian Cancer

• Misdiagnosed IBS with Depression ---> Ovarian Tumor
• Is it ovarian cancer???
• Question about periods/ovaries
• "Ovarian cyst" diagnosis leads to ruptured appendix
• Could this be Ovarian Cancer??
• Ovarian Cancer??? HELP!!!!!
• Impact of ovary removal on menapausal women:
• Do I have my ovaries?
• one ovary
• Ovary Pain and Bleeding
• Ovarian Cancer
• Do I have ovarian cancer
• Ovarian Cancer ?
• Young mom with ovarian pain...please help!
• Left ovary not seen on ultrasound
• ovarian tumor and sebaceous cyst - origin?
• Do I have my ovaries?
• Ovarian Agenesis
• Ovarian Tumor and Sebaceous Cysts Linked?
• Do I have my ovaries?

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Ovarian Cancer, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Definitions of Ovarian Cancer:

A malignant neoplasm originating from the surface ovarian epithelium. It accounts for the greatest number of deaths from malignancies of the female genital tract and is the fifth leading cause of cancer fatalities in women. It is predominantly a disease of older white women of northern European extraction, but it is seen in all ages and ethnic groups. Adenocarcinomas constitute the vast majority of ovarian carcinomas. The pattern of metastatic spread in ovarian carcinoma is similar regardless of the microscopic type. The most common sites of involvement are the contralateral ovary, peritoneal cavity, para-aortic and pelvic lymph nodes, and liver. Lung and pleura are the most common sites of extra-abdominal spread. The primary form of therapy is surgical. The overall prognosis of ovarian carcinoma remains poor, a direct result of its rapid growth rate and the lack of early symptoms. --2002 - (Source - Diseases Database)

Ovarian Cancer is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Ovarian Cancer, or a subtype of Ovarian Cancer, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)