Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian Cancer - Cancer that begins in the tissues of the ovaries. The ovaries are a pair of female reproductive glands located on each side of a woman’s uterus (the organ where a baby grows and develops). The ovaries produce eggs (called ova), as well as sex hormones, estrogen, and progesterone. Ovarian cancer normally affects women aged 55 and older.

Ovarian cancer is classified by the type of cell affected, as well as where in the ovaries it originates. Nearly nine out of 10 ovarian cancers are epithelial ovarian carcinomas (which begin in the cells on the surface of the ovary). The other types include germ cell ovarian cancer (which begins in the egg-producing cells within the ovary) and stromal ovarian cancer (which develops in the connective tissue that holds the ovary together and produces most of the female hormones).

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