A new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Ovarian cancer in Australia an overview, 2010. The report shows that in 2006, there were 1,226 cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed in Australia, which equates to an average of three women being diagnosed with the disease every day. Between 1982 and 2006, although the overall number of cases increased (largely due to a growing and ageing population) the incidence rate dropped slightly from 12.4 to 10.7 per 100,000 women. The report shows that 40% of women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 2000 and 2006 were alive five years after their diagnosis. This is in contrast to those diagnosed between 1982 and 1987, when only 33% were alive five years after their diagnosis.
Ovarian cancer was the most common cause of gynaecological cancer death and the sixth most common cause of cancer-related death among women in 2006. Almost 800 Australian women, an average of two per day, died from ovarian cancer in 2006. One in 77 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer by the time they reach the age of 85. Although the prognosis for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer was relatively poor compared with a number of other cancers, the prognosis has improved over time. These and other data in this report provide a comprehensive picture of ovarian cancer in Australia including how ovarian cancer rates differ by age, Indigenous status, country of birth, socioeconomic status and geographical area.
(More? UNSW Embryology – Ovary Development | Medline Plus – Ovarian Cancer)
