Ovarian Cancer : A Lethal Gynecological Malignancy

Kristin a fifty-six-year-old Caucasian female who has been admitted to the emergency department after complaining of acute abdominal pain lasting three days, bloating with the inability to button her pants, and weight gain despite loss of appetite.  Upon her assessment she has had a long length of family history (maternal side) of cancer which included breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of thirty and reached menopause at fifty-four. With this initial assessment, her symptoms, and lab results she has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is cancer that begins in the ovaries. Ovaries are reproductive glands establish only in women. The ovaries produce eggs (ova) for reproduction. The eggs journey during the fallopian tubes into the uterus where the fertilized egg embeds and establish into a fetus. The ovaries are also the major cause of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. One ovary is situated on each side of the uterus in the pelvis. Many types of tumors can generate rising in the ovaries. The majority of these are benign (noncancerous) and never multiply outside the ovary. Benign tumors can be treated effectively by removing either the ovary or the part of the ovary that contains the tumor. Ovarian tumors that are not benign or malignant (cancerous)

Due to the significance, of the hormones and organs involved in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian axis, removal of ones of these organs could have detrimental side-effects for the patient, however, the ovary is often removed for numerous reasons. Therefore, knowing the effects of removing the ovary could have significant clinical implications in patient management and care. Thus the information produced by this study could potentially improve the lives of ovarian cancer patients and provide valuable data to clinicians and researchers. However, the results or conclusions produced by this data could also benefit women that experience menopause as the ovaries are no longer receptive to gonadotrophic signals, producing no estrogen as a result

Epithelial tumors about ninety percent of ovarian cancer develop in the epithelium, which is the thin sheet of tissue that protects the ovaries. This form of ovarian cancer generally occurs in postmenopausal women. Germ cell carcinoma, making up about five percent of ovarian cancer causes, begins in the cells that form eggs. Germ cell carcinoma can transpire in any woman; however, it tends to be found in women who are just entering adulthood. There are several different varieties of germ cell carcinoma that exist, but the three most familiar types are teratomas, dysgerminomas and endodermal sinus tumors. Most of the tumors that surface in the germ cells are not cancerous. However, stromal carcinoma tumors ovarian stromal carcinoma are malignant, accounting for about five percent of ovarian cancer cases. These tumors emerge in the connective tissue cells that connect the ovaries together and those that produce female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. The two most common types of tumors are granulosa cell tumors and sertoli leydig cell tumors. In contrast to epithelial ovarian carcinoma, 70 percent of stromal carcinoma cases are detected when they are in the beginning stage. Small cell carcinoma of the ovaries is a rare, distinctly c tumor that affects primarily young women whom have an average age of 24 years old. The subtypes of small cell carcinoma of the ovaries includes pulmonary, neuro-endocrine and hypercalcemic small cell carcinoma of the ovaries accounts for 0.1 percent of ovarian cancer instances. Approximately two thirds of patients with small cell carcinoma ovaries have hypercalcemia which is when there is an abundant amount of calcium in the blood. (``Types of Ovarian Cancer``,

Ovarian cancer is cancer of the ovaries and is listed as the fifth cause of death in women. Ovaries are the reproductive glands of only females and the main source of a female’s estrogen and progesterone. The ovaries are made up of 3 kinds of cells, which can also develop different types of tumors. Epithelial tumors start from the cell that covers the outer surface of the ovaries. Germ cell tumors start from the cells that produce the eggs. Stromal tumors start from the structural tissues that hold the ovary together and produce the female hormones (1).

Cancer in the ovaries spreads quickly to other parts of the body and “is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, with an alarmingly poor prognosis attributed to late detection and chemoresistance (Brachova).” The ovaries are composed of three different types of tissue: epithelia, germ, and stromal, with tumors being named for the kinds of cells the tumor started from and whether the tumor is benign or cancerous. The American Cancer Society’s estimates for ovarian cancer in the United States in 2014 are about 21,980 new cases and about 14,270 deaths. A woman’s risk of getting invasive ovarian cancer in her lifetime is about 1 in 72 and about half of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 63 years or older (American Cancer Society).

The type of treatments are surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and hormone therapy. Ovarian Cancer often goes undetected, at a late stage it can be difficult to treat and can be fatal. Another symptom

According to lead nurse Carolyn Rooth, the majority of ovarian malignancies (approximately 50-60%) are serous carcinomas with epithelial origins (S24). Benign epithelial ovarian tumors do not spread and for the most part do not lead to serious illness. LMP or low malignant potential tumors can be viewed under the microscope can show that they are not cancerous. These borderline cancers are unlike typical ovarian cancers because they do not branch out into the ovarian stroma, also known as supporting tissues (Wolfe). Epithelial tumors that are known to be cancerous are malignant tumors.

Ovarian cancer is also one of the cancer that is affecting millions of women in today’s world. The previous researches were claiming that ovarian cancer comes from ovary cells. However, studies have found that ovarian cancer could be coming from fallopian tube. Dr. Burdette’s lab researched how fallopian tube can be contributing to ovarian cancer, and her research shows strong evidence of how does it occurs. It is very important to find a cure for ovarian cancer, otherwise deaths due to ovarian cancer will keep increasing. Also, ovarian cancer has potential higher risk of causing breast cancer. Curing ovarian cancer will stop it from damaging other tissues because the hormones released from ovaries can negatively impact cell proliferation

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of death for women in the United States. In 2017, it's estimated that less than 40% of women who are affected by the disease will achieve a successful cure. Some women with the difficult-to-treat disease often have tumors that are not only at advanced stages but also able to resist current chemotherapy drugs.

Ovarian cancer is less common, with a projected 22, 440 new cases. However, it carries a much higher mortality rate.

As with any cancer, ovarian cancer can be treated successfully if it’s diagnosed in the early stages. It often goes undetected until it has spread to other parts of the body, making it more difficult to treat.

“If you don’t catch ovarian cancer early, it can be a death sentence,” May said. “I get checked once a year to make sure there are no cancerous cells forming. It is something I will have to live with.”

There are three common cell types in which, ovarian cancer is formed. Surface epithelium cells cover the outer lining of the ovaries and form epithelial tumors that can either be benign (noncancerous) or cancerous carcinomas. Epithelial tumors are the most common and most dangerous out of the 30 different types of ovarian cancer. (NOCC, Types of Ovarian Cancer, 2012, para. 2) Germ cells are destined to form the ova or eggs in which, germ cell tumors can form from these cells.

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that develops in a woman’s cervix, which is the entrance to the uterus through the vagina. There are glandular cells lining the inside of the cervix and they produce mucus. The cervix is covered with a layer of skin-like cells on the other surface, called ‘ectocervix. These cells of the ectocervix and glandular cells can become cancerous, by malignant tumours from cells that are able to invade the surrounding tissue and organs causing serious damage to it, by abnormal cell growth and tumour in the area. The area of the cervix that is most likely to be prone to cancer, is the opening area of the cervix or space within the cervix called the ‘endocervical canal’. This area is the narrow passage way which gives