Ovarian cancer is cancer that begins in your ovaries. Only women have ovaries, so only women get this kind of cancer.

Many types of tumors can start growing in the ovaries. Some are benign, meaning they are noncancerous. Benign tumors do not spread and can be treated by removing one ovary, or part of the ovary. Ovarian cancer, however, is a cancerous tumor. If a cancerous tumor is not treated, it can spread to other parts of the body. To better understand what is happening inside you, it will help you to understand the basic anatomy of the ovaries.

Epithelial tumors

Epithelial tumors occur in the epithelium, which is the tissue that covers the outside of the ovary. About 90% of ovarian cancers are of this type. The risk of epithelial ovarian cancer increases with age and occurs mostly in women over 60, but it can develop at any age.

There are several types of epithelial cancers of the ovary. They include:

• serous
• mucinous
• endometrioid
• clear cell
• undifferentiated or unclassifiable.

Germ Cell Tumor.

These types of tumors develop in the egg-producing tissue. Approximately 5 percent of women with ovarian cancer have germ cell tumors. This cancer type usually occurs in teenage girls and young women and is effectively treated when it is detected in the incipient stages.

There are 2 Germ Cell Tumour

Endodermal sinus tumor: This is a rare type of tumor that develops in girls and young women. It is characterized by a rapid growth process and can spread quickly. Chemotherapy is the most effective treatment option for this type of germ cell tumor.

Choriocarcinoma: This is another rare type of cancerous tumor that develops in the placenta during pregnancy. Choriocarcinomas can grow and spread rapidly. The most effective treatment option for this type of tumor is chemotherapy.
Stromal tumors.

These tumors develop in the estrogen- and progesterone-producing tissue that holds the ovary together.

Borderline Ovarian Cancers

Borderline ovarian cancers may be composed of serous, clear cell, endometrioid or mucinous material, but spread slowly and have a high cure rate. Ten to fifteen percent of epithelial cases are borderline, and they develop most often between the ages of thirty and eighty. In most cases, surgical removal is enough to cure a borderline growth.

Serous Tumors

Forty percent of epithelial tumors are serous growths. Serous cells produce a thin, watery fluid. Serous growths may be benign (serous cystadenoma), or malignant (serous cystadenocarcinoma). Fifty percent of such growths are malignant. Women between the ages of forty and sixty are most likely to develop serous tumors.

Treatment

Local therapy: Surgery and radiation therapy are local therapies. They remove or destroy ovarian cancer in the pelvis. When ovarian cancer has spread to other parts of the body, local therapy may be used to control the disease in those specific areas.

Surgery — The first step in treating ovarian cancer usually involves surgical removal of as much cancerous tissue as possible (called optimal surgical debulking or optimal cytoreduction). Optimal surgical debulking impacts the woman's prognosis (cancer outcome) it also influences the choice of chemotherapy treatment as well. A woman is more likely to have optimal cytoreduction if her initial surgery is performed by a gynecologic oncologist, a specialist in cancers of the female reproductive system. This topic is addressed elsewhere.