Ovarian Cancer, Young Women & Fertility

Ovarian cancer is a particularly difficult cancer to treat. The best way to beat cancer is to catch it early, something that’s not easy for ovarian cancer because of its vague symptoms. It most often strikes older women (over age 50 years), but up to 17% of women with ovarian cancer are under the age of 40 years, say researchers. Statistics show that about 21,650 women in the United States were diagnosed with the disease in 2008.

If a woman develops ovarian cancer in her child-bearing years and hasn’t had children, a big concern often becomes preserving fertility because treatment is usually a hysterectomy and oopherectomy – removal of the uterus and ovaries.

Researchers from New York looked at data involving women under the age of 50 years who were diagnosed with stage I ovarian cancer between 1988 and 2004. The first analysis involved women who had either one or both ovaries removed, and the second looked at women who had hysterectomy versus not having one

According to a press release issued by the American Cancer Society,

For their first analysis, the researchers identified 1,186 ovarian cancer patients. While most had both ovaries removed, about one in three (36 percent) had one ovary conserved. They found those in whom one ovary was saved had similar survival for up to at least five years.

To examine the effect of uterine preservation, the investigators studied a total of 2,911 women. While most of the women underwent hysterectomy, about one in four (23 percent) had uterine preservation. Uterine preservation also had no effect on survival.

This is good news for women who would like to try to preserve their fertility.

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