Living with Ovarian Tumour & Consequences

Abstract

Introduction

Gynaecological cancers are among the most common cancers in women and hence an important public health issue. Due to the lack of cancer awareness, variable pathology, and dearth of proper screening facilities in developing countries such as India, most women report at advanced stages, adversely affecting the prognosis and clinical outcomes. Ovarian cancer has emerged as one of the most common malignancies affecting women in India and has shown an increase in the incidence rates over the years, as compared to cervical cancer and breast Cancers which are on a declining trend! In India, ovarian cancer is the third most common gynaecological cancer, following breast and cervical cancer [1, 2]. Ovarian cancer is often difficult to detect because symptoms often don’t develop until later stages. The ovarian cancer is differentiated in four stages, namely:  Stage I: Cancer is confined to one or both ovaries. Stage II: Cancer has spread to the uterus or other nearby organs. Stage III: Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or abdominal lining. Stage IV: Cancer has spread to distant organs, such as the lungs or liver.

During a 7-year duration (2010–2016), 6,515 cancer patients were recorded at PBCR, and 228 cases were of ovarian malignancy. It was observed that most of the cases in this study were in 41–50 years of life. The age-standardized incidence rate of ovarian cancers in the that study was 4.61 per 100,000, and the crude incidence rate was 5.08 per 100,000. The crude mortality rate and age-standardized mortality rate of ovarian cancer were 2.3 and 2.02 per 100,000, respectively. Serous carcinoma is the most common histological subtype (43.75%), followed by mucinous carcinoma.