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THIS IS ARCHIVED INFORMATION AS OF JANUARY 2003.
Last updated January, 2003.

Ovarian Cancer

• In 2002, an estimated 23,300 women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and about 13,900 will die.
• A woman's chances of having ovarian cancer are increased if she has a strong family history, meaning she has one or more close relatives (mother, daughter or sister) who has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
• Ovarian cancer is most treatable when diagnosed early; however, it is difficult to detect early. Only 26 percent of all cases are diagnosed at the earliest stage. About 60 percent of all cases are not diagnosed until the cancer has spread beyond the abdominal cavity, when the five-year relative survival rate is only about 30 percent.
• At this time, no reliable screening tools are available to detect ovarian cancer in its earliest stages. However, tests such as CA125 currently are being evaluated as a screening tool. CA125, a tumor marker, can detect high elevations of substances in the blood that result from a tumor.
• State lawmakers can address ovarian cancer by supporting and funding awareness activities, screening and diagnosis research, and treatment programs.

Sources: CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, American Cancer Society and National Cancer Institute. For additional information about cancer of all types, contact health-info@ncsl.org