What is the life expectancy for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer

Lisa Levis — Ovarian cancer survival rate denotes overall probability of a person to survive after undergoing ovarian cancer diagnosis. It is generally expressed in percentage and is likely to change from time to time. Ovarian cancer life expectancy is sensitive to a number of variants like age, geographical location, medical history, and stage of cancer. It is generally calculated for five years and is based on observations concluded through scientific methods.

Factors affecting ovarian cancer survival rate

Cancer of ovaries is one of the most fatal disorders occurring in women and is the most dangerous malignancy detected in female reproductive organs. It can be highly risky for functional tissues and cells in vagina, uterus, or other regions located near ovaries and may lead to severe health issues for the victim. Hence, detection and treatment of tumors in initial phases is important to avoid their metastasis.

Survival rate is calculated by considering a variety of factors. Most primary aspect given prime importance is stage of the disorder a victim is detected in. Ovarian cancer life expectancy is different for different stages of the disease. Usually, the rate is higher for lower stages and vice-versa. Age is another factor deciding upon the pace of progress of tumors from lower to higher stages; thus, indirectly affecting chances of survival. Malignant infection in ovaries develops mainly after menopause and thus, women above 50 years have maximum chances of being prone to the infection. As a person grows older, she is likely to suffer from weakened immune system. This leads to development of several non-cancerous infections in the body. Some of these infections may play an indirect role in creating conditions suitable for cells to become malignant. Also, it is not feasible to prescribe aggressive cure methods for old people as it may lead to several irreversible side-effects. Thus, age of a victim is considered while predicting chances of survival.

Genetic factors play a main role in occurrence or recurrence of ovarian cancer. Defects like BRCA1 and BRCA2 can lead to significant decrease in rate of survival. Also, people with personal or family history of malignant growth in breasts, vagina, abdomen, uterus, blood cells, or lymph nodes may record low chances of survival. Women who opt for estrogen replacement without stressing on adequate intake of progesterone are also vulnerable to low rate of survival.

General figures for ovarian cancer survival rate

American Cancer Society (United States of America) is one of the leading organizations dedicated to study on different forms of cancer. As per their recent statistics, a person suffering from stage 1 of ovarian malignancy has around 80-94% life expectancy. It is approximately 94% for stage 1A, 91% for stage 1B, and 80% for stage 1C with the average rate being 89% for first stage as a whole. For people detected in second stage, chances to survive vary between 57-76%. The rate for stage 2A is 76%, for 2B it is 67%, and for 2C it is 57%. For stage 3, the rate can be between 34-45 % with 45%, 39%, and 35% for stage 3A, 3B, and 3C respectively. People diagnosed for fourth stage have least chances of survival with the rate being just 18%.

Ovarian cancer survival rate is generally calculated in accordance with lifestyle pattern and personal habits prevalent in a particular area. Thus, the rate may vary from region to region and can even alter on positive side if the victim has strong immune. Ovarian cancer life expectancy may also vary from victim to victim though all of them might be going through same cancer stage. Hence, diagnosis is made in a manner suitable to physical condition of a victim.



About Author

Lisa Levis loves to write article on health issues. Besides other content, she reads informative blogs about cancer, like http://www.cancer8.com.