UK Ovarian Cancer incidence statistics

In 2006 there were 6,596 cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed in the UK. Table 1.11-,4 shows the numbers and rates of new cases in the UK and its constituent countries. It has been estimated that the lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is 1 in 50 for women in the UK. These were calculated on February 2009 using incidence and mortality data for 2001-2005. 11

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Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynaecological cancer in UK women after uterus ( Table 1.2).

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Ovarian cancer is predominantly a disease of older, post-menopausal women with over 80% of cases being diagnosed in women over 50 years (5,506 out of 6,596 cases). There is a steep increase in incidence after the usual age of the menopause ( Figure 1.1) 1-4. The highest incidence rates are for women aged 65 and over.

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Worldwide there are more than 204,000 new cases of ovarian cancer each year, accounting for around 4% of all cancers diagnosed in women 5. Incidence rates vary considerably, with the highest rates in the USA and Northern Europe and the lowest rates in Africa and Asia 5.

Around 43,000 cases occur each year in Europe and 22,000 in the USA. Within the EU the lowest rates are in the Southern European countries of Greece, Portugal and Cyprus, while the highest are in the Northern and Eastern European countries of Lithuania, Denmark, Czech Republic and Estonia ( Figure 1.2 shows incidence and mortality for EU countries) 5.

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Evidence from population migrant studies is conflicting. In a study of immigrants to Israel, those who migrated from a country with a higher incidence of ovarian cancer retained a similar level of risk as their country of origin, but within one generation the risks were no longer significantly different 6. However, research in other migrant populations has not shown a similar pattern 7-,10.

Ovarian cancer incidence rates peaked in 2001 and have since started to decrease, although the all ages rate is still around 15% higher than in 1975.The ovarian cancer mortality rate has decreased by around 20% from around 12 deaths per 100,000 women in 1975 to around 10 in 2007 ( Figure 1.3) 1,3,4.

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Figure 1.4 shows the age-specific rates for ovarian cancer between 1975 and 2006 in Great Britain. Most of the increase in incidence in Britain has been in women over 65 years. Between 1975 and 2006 the incidence rate in women over 65 years rose from 43 to 61 per 100,000, an increase of more than 40%. For women aged 50-64 ovarian cancer incidence rates peaked in 1998 and have decreased by almost a fifth since then. Widespread use of the contraceptive pill is one possible explanation for the stability of rates in younger women.

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