Ovarian cancer
Introduction
Ovarian cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in an organ called the ovary. It is one of the most common causes of death from the gynaecological cancers in the developed world.
Early detection of the ovarian cancer is said to be difficult due to the ‘silent’ behaviour of the disease. Usually, the disease has an insidious onset with vague and non specific symptoms that are attributed to other causes thereby causing delay in diagnosis.
The ovarian cancer cells like any other cancer cells are characterized by abnormal and uncontrolled cell growth and division. The resulting tumour can invade the surrounding normal tissues thereby causing damage to the tissue. Similarly these cancer cells can spread beyond the ovaries and pelvis, and in such case the chance of it cure is much more reduced.
The ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis, and most women who develop ovarian cancer die from the disease within five years of diagnosis (due to the delay in diagnosis). If a woman is still alive five years after the date of her diagnosis, she is considered to have greatest chance of cure. When the disease is detected before it has spread beyond the ovaries, more than 90% of women survive longer than five years. But when the ovarian cancer is diagnosed lately, the chance of five-year survival is only about 25%.
Several attempts have been made to develop a high-quality screening test for the early detection of the ovarian cancer, but no test has yet shown to reduce the mortality rate from the ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in an organ called the ovary. It is one of the most common causes of death from the gynaecological cancers in the developed world.
Early detection of the ovarian cancer is said to be difficult due to the ‘silent’ behaviour of the disease. Usually, the disease has an insidious onset with vague and non specific symptoms that are attributed to other causes thereby causing delay in diagnosis.
The ovarian cancer cells like any other cancer cells are characterized by abnormal and uncontrolled cell growth and division. The resulting tumour can invade the surrounding normal tissues thereby causing damage to the tissue. Similarly these cancer cells can spread beyond the ovaries and pelvis, and in such case the chance of it cure is much more reduced.
The ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis, and most women who develop ovarian cancer die from the disease within five years of diagnosis (due to the delay in diagnosis). If a woman is still alive five years after the date of her diagnosis, she is considered to have greatest chance of cure. When the disease is detected before it has spread beyond the ovaries, more than 90% of women survive longer than five years. But when the ovarian cancer is diagnosed lately, the chance of five-year survival is only about 25%.
Several attempts have been made to develop a high-quality screening test for the early detection of the ovarian cancer, but no test has yet shown to reduce the mortality rate from the ovarian cancer.
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(Copyright © 2011 by U. Bala)
(Copyright © 2011 by U. Bala)