ABSTRACT
The incidence of ovarian cancer varies across the world. It is highest in the USA, Europe and Israel, and lowest in Japan and in developing countries. Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in North American women, with more than 23 000 new cases diagnosed and 14 000 deaths annually. Ovarian adenocarcinoma is a disease of peri-and post-menopausal women with peak incidence at age 60. Less than 1 per cent of epithelial ovarian cancers occur before the age of 20 and two thirds of these malignancies are germ cell tumours. Hereditary ovarian cancers occur about 10 years earlier than sporadic cancers.
