What Is the Prognosis of Ovarian Cancer?

What is the prognosis of ovarian cancer? A diagnosis of cancer, including ovarian cancer, can be frightening. Knowing the prognosis can help to deal with the situation as it can provide a general picture. The outlook, however, depends on individual factors. What exactly is a prognosis?

 
What Is Prognosis?

In medical terms, a prognosis is defined as the forecast of the course or probable outcome of a disease. It is also defined as the chance of recovery of the patient.

In the case of ovarian cancer, the prognosis of a patient depends on various factors, including the stage as well as the type of ovarian cancer she has. Below, we explain the stages and types of ovarian cancer in brief.

 
Stages of Ovarian Cancer

There are four stages for ovarian cancer based on how far cancer has spread and how aggressive it is.

• Stage I
  Stage I ovarian cancer means that cancer hasn’t spread beyond the ovaries.
  
  
• Stage II
  Stage II means that cancer has begun to spread beyond the ovaries to other areas within the pelvis.
  
  
• Stage III
  At Stage III, the cancer is in either one or both ovaries and has spread beyond the pelvis to nearby lymph nodes and/or other parts of the abdomen.
  
  
• Stage IV
  At Stage IV, cancer has spread to distant organs or areas in the body, such as the tissue inside the liver or lungs.

Types of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is divided into three types based on the cells the tumor develops or grows in.

• Epithelial
  This is the most common type. These tumors develop in cells that cover the ovaries’ surface.
• Stromal
  These tumors develop in producing (hormone) cells.
  
• Germ cell
  The rarest type of ovarian cancer. These tumors grow in egg-producing cells.

 

What Is the Prognosis of Ovarian Cancer?

So, what is the prognosis of ovarian cancer? We explain the prognosis of ovarian cancer below.

• Stage I
  Most women who have been diagnosed with Stage I ovarian cancer have a great prognosis with a five-year survival rate of over 90%.
  
  
• Stage II
  Most women who have been diagnosed with Stage II ovarian cancer have a five-year survival rate of about 70%.
  
  
• Stage III
  The five-year survival rate of most women who have been diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer is about 39%.
  
  
• Stage IV
  The majority of women who have been diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer have a five-year survival rate of approx. 17%.

Note that the survival rates apply only to the stage of ovarian cancer when it is diagnosed for the first time. In the case where cancer grows, spreads, or returns after treatment, these numbers don’t apply.

For example, if a woman is diagnosed with Stage I epithelial ovarian cancer, her survival rate is 90%.

Individual Outlook

Although knowing the prognosis can be helpful, you should know that it is only a general outline. The survival rates don’t take everything into account. The rates are categorized based on how far cancer spread.

Other factors, such as the patients’ overall health and age and how effective the treatment is, are not taken into account. And these factors can affect the outlook of a patient.

Also, the survival rates are based on the women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and treated at least five years earlier. Since treatments improve over time, women who are now being diagnosed with cancer may have a better outlook than the numbers show.

What is the prognosis of ovarian cancer? Whatever your prognosis is, keep in mind that it serves only as a general outline. Your outlook will depend on various factors, including your overall health, age, as well as how well cancer you have responded to the treatment.