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During this year some 3,600 new cases will be diagnosed throughout Spain.
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Globally, it represents approximately 3% of tumors in women.
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It is the fifth leading cause of death from cancer in the female population in Spain after breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer, according to the latest data for 2021.
Almost always diagnosed at an advanced stage
In addition to being little known, the problem that specialists face when it comes to this tumor is that, in its initial stages, it usually presents without symptoms or with very mild symptoms that go unnoticed and are confused with benign processes.
This is why this tumor is so difficult to diagnose early.
In fact, the majority of patients, between 70 and 80% according to SEGO, are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease.
Ovarian cancer is more common in those women who have already passed the . Thus, its maximum incidence is concentrated between 50 and 75 years of age.
But age is not the only risk factor. Gynecology specialists point to other aspects of women such as:
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Having a family history of breast, ovarian, colon, or endometrial cancer
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Personal history of breast cancer
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Mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes
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Not having had any pregnancy.
These are the most common symptoms of ovarian cancer
Given this reality, and in order to improve diagnostic times, the SEGO Gynecology Oncology and Breast Pathology Section recommends going to the gynecologist as soon as possible if these symptoms occur, especially persistently:
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Progressive abdominal distension.
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Pelvic and/or abdominal pain or discomfort that persists and has no logical explanation.
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Repeated feeling of fullness with food, even with small amounts of food.
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Weight loss or trouble eating.
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Discomfort when urinating and/or passing stools that persist and are not explained by other causes.
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Inappropriate vaginal bleeding.
Some of these signs, such as bloating or a feeling of fullness when eating, are due to an abnormal amount of fluid accumulating in the abdomen.
Fluid can also accumulate in the pleura around the lungs, causing shortness of breath or feeling short of breath.
As for other symptoms that would seem to have nothing to do with the ovary, such as discomfort when urinating or defecating, specialists explain that:
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“The growth of an ovarian mass in the pelvis can affect neighboring structures, mainly the rectum and causing symptoms such as frequent diuresis, diarrhea or constipation, and abdominal or pelvic pain.”
The importance of early diagnosis
Unfortunately, gynecology specialists do not have a technique or method for early detection of ovarian cancer, unlike what happens with uterine cancer and cytology.
The diagnosis is made by means of a transvaginal ultrasound and a subsequent blood test that includes tumor markers, in the case of suspicion.
Hence, those women who present the symptoms described are insisted that they go to their gynecologist when they appreciate any possible symptom of the disease, although they may really only consider them as a nuisance.
Because speed in diagnosis is essential. And more so at a time when considerable progress has been made in the field of treatment for this type of tumor.
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Both in the use of new less invasive and more precise surgical techniques
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As in the identification and application of new therapeutic targets and personalized therapies for patients.
Thanks to this, the net survival rate in this type of tumors has been growing in recent years, and is now at 41%, being higher in women under 74 years of age, according to data from the .
Of course, to improve these percentages it is necessary to act on time.
Ovarian Cancer Treatments
In terms of therapies, the most notable advances have been in high-grade serous epithelial tumors, which are the most frequent subtype of ovarian cancer and the leading cause of gynecological cancer mortality.
Up to 50% of these ovarian tumors present alterations in the genes related to DNA repair through the homologous recombination mechanism, of which 15-20% are due to mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
This is allowing progress in the treatment of women with these mutations.
And PARP protein inhibitors (olaparib, niraparib and rucaparib) have been some of the drugs that have caused a change in the paradigm of ovarian cancer treatment with these alterations.
Likewise, in relapsed tumors, its use as maintenance after response to platinum-based chemotherapy has made it possible to delay progression and increase the overall survival of patients.