Every year worldwide, about 200,000 women (60,000 in Europe and 20,000 in the US) contract a malignant tumour of the ovaries,(medically: ovarian carcinoma), ovarian cancer therefore is the sixth-most common malignant disorder in women.
Many patients with advance ovarian cancer, within one to two years experience a relapse of the disease, the so-called recurrence, despite the formed treatments surgery and chemotherapy were successful leading to complete removal of the initial tumour.
Up to now, there is no scientifically-based therapy for the prevention of the possible relapse of the ovarian cancer. If a relapse occurs, then therapeutic options are limited and the disease is considered no longer curable in most cases.
Although most cases of ovarian cancer occur in women aged 55 years or older, the disease can occur in younger women.
The most common form of ovarian cancer—epithelial—usually is diagnosed in women aged 40 years or older.
Risk for all forms of ovarian cancer increases with age.
A woman’s risk also increases if one or more of the following is true for her:
• She has never given birth.
• She had trouble conceiving.
• She has one or more close relatives (i.e., mother, daughter, or sister) who have had the disease.
Further information on:
Drug Resistance in ovarian cancer: biomarkers and treatments by PierFranco Conte:
www.ovariancancer.unimore.it/PConte.pdfOverview on Ovarian Cancer by A. Riccardi
nfs.unipv.it/nfs/minf/dispense/riccardi/Ovaio.pdf/Ovaio2.pdfwww.cdc.gov/cancer/ovarian/pdf/0809_ovarian_fs.pdfinformazioni per le donne (in italiano):
www.eurohealth.ie/icancom/ovaries.htmla biologia del cancro alle ovaie (in italiano):
www.diariodelweb.it/Articolo/G.G.
