Author(s): Samir A. Farghaly
The estimated new cases of ovarian cancer in the United States of America (USA) in 2014 is 21, 980, and the estimated deaths is 14,270. It ranks 5th overall for cancer death in women, counting for 5% of all cancer deaths in women (lung, breast, colorectal, pancreatic are 1-4 respectively). At time of diagnosis, 15% of the total cases are localized, 18% are regional, and 61% are distant. In 2011, there were an estimated 188,867 women living with ovary cancer in the United States. The Standard treatment of ovarian cancer consists of surgical resection of disease followed by taxane and platinum-based chemotherapy which yields a partial response rate of about 80% and a complete response rate of 40%-60% in patients with advanced disease.