Sex cord, stromal cell cancers, begin in the cells that hold the ovaries together and produce female hormones. Among American women, ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer, and it is the leading cause of death from all types of gynecologic cancer. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed this year, with 15,000 women dying from this disease. There are marked differences in survival among patients with ovarian cancer, depending on factors such as age, cancer stage, and tissue type. Younger patients tend to fare better in all stages than do older patients, whereas race does not play a factor, as it does in other cancers.
Survival rates are similar in black and white women.
The ovaries are female reproductive organs that are akin to the testes in men. They are pinkish-gray in color and have an uneven surface. The ovaries are connected to the uterus by the fallopian tubes, or oviducts, which carry the eggs into the uterine cavity. Each ovary contains numerous Graafian follicles, egg-containing tubes that grow and develop between puberty, sexual maturation, and menopause, when the monthly menstrual cycle stops. When a woman is fertile, each month a Graafian follicle travels to the surface of the ovary, bursts, and releases an egg and its fluid contents into a fallopian tube.