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What is ovarian cancer and why do we need more research?

Ovarian cancer is the 8th most common and 8th most deadly type of cancer in women around the world. Anyone with ovaries can get ovarian cancer, but the symptoms can be hard to tell apart from other common health conditions. What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer? What causes it? How is it diagnosed? What are your treatment options? And what are we doing to start new cancer cures for ovarian cancer?

What is ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that happens when cells in or around the ovaries and fallopian tubes start to grow out of control. The ovaries are two small organs in the lower abdomen that store the eggs needed to make babies. Over 90% of cases are epithelial ovarian cancer, which starts in cells covering the ovaries, but there are many other, less common types of ovarian cancer.

In 2020, more than 300,000 people worldwide were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and over 200,000 died from the disease.

Anyone with ovaries can be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. As with all cancers, your risk of developing ovarian cancer increases with age, and more than half of cases in the UK occur in people over the age of 65.

It is vital that we continue funding more research to find new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat ovarian cancer.

What causes ovarian cancer?

You have a higher chance of developing ovarian cancer if you have ovulated more – this means that if you started menstruating at an early age or started your menopause late, your risk may be higher. Long-term use of hormonal contraceptives has been shown to decrease your risk of developing ovarian cancer, and this is believed to have contributed to the decrease in ovarian cancer cases seen in many countries where hormonal contraceptives are used at high rates and from an earlier age. This may also be due to reduced use of HRT.

Other risk factors include:

An inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation
A previous diagnosis of breast or bowel cancer
Previous treatment with radiotherapy
Endometriosis
Diabetes
Taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
Never having used hormonal contraceptives
Being overweight or obese
Smoking

What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer is much easier to treat if caught early, however many people are diagnosed after the cancer has spread to other areas. The most common symptoms of ovarian cancer can be hard to tell apart from other common health issues, such as gastrointestinal issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If you frequently experience any of these symptoms (more than 12 times in a month), you should speak to your GP:

Feeling bloated/swollen tummy
Pain or tenderness in abdomen or pelvis that doesn’t go away
No appetite or feeling full quickly after eating
Urgent need to pee or peeing more often

Other symptoms can include:

Indigestion
Changes to bowel habits
Back pain
Feeling tired all the time
Losing weight unintentionally
Bleeding from the vagina after menopause

How is ovarian cancer treated?

Treatments for ovarian cancer depend on the location of the cancer, how developed it is, and if/how far it has spread. Surgery is most successful when ovarian cancer is caught earlier, and chemotherapies like carboplatin after often offered alongside surgery, for example to help shrink the tumour beforehand. Radiotherapy may be offered if the cancer is more advanced but can also be used to alleviate symptoms such as pain and bleeding.

Recent research has discovered several more targeted treatment options, although availability and eligibility will depend on your local health provider. Avastin (Bevacizumab) and similar drugs called anti-angiogenics work by stopping new blood vessels growing to support ovarian tumours, which can slow their development.

PARP inhibitors, such as olaparib, are another recent revelation in targeted therapy. They work by stopping damaged cancer cells from repairing themselves, causing them to die. Find out how our Curestarters helped develop olaparib.