About ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer develops in the ovaries, which are the female reproductive glands that produce eggs during a woman's reproductive years. The ovaries also produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Ovarian cancer develops when cells in the ovaries begin to grow out of control.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 22,530 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2019. Although relatively rare—accounting for about 2.5 percent of all cancers in women—ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States.