Better ways to screen for ovarian cancer are being researched, but currently, there are no reliable screening tests.
In this video, Northside Hospital Cancer Institute's Dr. Guilherme Cantuaria discusses what screening options are available and offers recommendations for women at risk for developing the disease.
According to the American Cancer Society, half of all ovarian cancers are found in women 63 years of age or older, and the cancer accounts for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.
Risk factors for developing ovarian cancer include:
- Obesity
- Smoking and excessive alcohol use
- Having first child after age 35
- Fertility treatments
- Inability to carry any pregnancy to term
- Family history of ovarian cancer, breast or cervical cancer (due to defects in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes)
- Estrogen replacement therapy without the use of progesterone for 5 years or more
- Having had breast cancer
Learn more about ovarian cancer cancer at Northside.
