Understanding Your Risk for Ovarian Cancer

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.