Causes of ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women, but the American Cancer Society reports that a woman’s lifetime risk is still very low. In the United States, less than 1% of women with no family history or other risk factors develop ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is more common in postmenopausal women and increases with age. Half of all cases of ovarian cancer occur in women age 63 and older, and it affects white women more often than black women.