Statistics

Incidence

• Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer diagnosed in women and the second most commonly diagnosed gynaecological cancer 
• Every year approximately 1,200 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, most of them with an advanced stage of the disease
• On average 3 Australian women are diagnosed every day
• One in 90 women will of develop ovarian cancer in her lifetime
• Six out of 10 ovarian cancer cases occur in women over the age of 60 
• The average age of women at diagnosis is 63 years
• The risk of ovarian cancer increases with age.
• An estimated 1,488 women are expected to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015

Mortality

• Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cause of cancer death in Australian women
• Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death from a gynaecological cancer

Survival

Every woman with ovarian cancer is treated as an individual case, depending on the stage of the disease and other personal factors. It is therefore very difficult to give a general prognosis.If the cancer is diagnosed and treated early, between 80-100% of patients will survive for more than five years. But only approximately 30% of women diagnosed at advanced stages will survive for more than five years.  See 'How is Ovarian Cancer Treated?' for further information about survival rates.

• The five year survival rate for Australian women with ovarian cancer is only about 40%
• In comparison, the five year survival rate for breast cancer is about 88%

To reference these statistics, please click here

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To read about the Risk factors and Symptoms of ovarian cancer, please click here

To read about the Treatment of ovarian cancer, please click here

Please remember that every case of ovarian cancer is unique. To find support, please click here