Anyone with ovaries can develop ovarian cancer.
Prevention is not yet possible, but certain factors play a role in raising and lowering your risk.
Factors That Raise Ovarian Cancer Risk
Age
-
Being 55 years or older
-
Most ovarian cancer cases develop after menopause
Gynecological
-
First full-term pregnancy after age 35
-
No full-term pregnancies
-
Late menopause
-
Early onset periods
-
Endometriosis
-
Infertility
Hormone therapy after menopause
-
Estrogen treatment without progesterone
Genetics
-
A family history of ovarian, breast or colorectal cancer
-
Having a genetic mutation for ovarian, breast or colorectal cancer
-
BRCA1, BRCA 2 or Lynch syndrome
-
Up to 1 in 4 ovarian cancers are caused by genetic mutations
A previous breast cancer diagnosis
Obesity
Factors that might increase your risk — but more studies are needed
Research is still ongoing linking ovarian cancer risks to:
-
Talcum powder
-
Fertility treatments
Factors That Lower Your Ovarian Cancer Risk
Birth control
-
Birth control pills
-
IUDs
-
Tubal ligation
DYK? Few doctors still recommend tubal ligation. It’s now common to remove the fallopian tubes for permanent sterilization.
Gynecological factors
-
Breastfeeding
-
Pregnancy carried to full-term
-
Each pregnancy carried to full-term lowers your risk further
-
Early menopause (before age 45)
Surgery
-
Salpingectomy
-
Removal of fallopian tubes, often done during another surgery
-
Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
-
Removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes
-
Hysterectomy
-
Removal of uterus alone
DYK? Most cases of ovarian cancer start with precancerous cells in the fallopian tubes
Removing the fallopian tubes is a low-risk surgery that could reduce your ovarian cancer risk by a lot.
This educational resource was created with support from Daiichi Sankyo and Merck.