what are the causes of ovarian cancer? is it hereditary?!
Question: What are the causes of ovarian cancer? is it hereditary?
Answers:
The exact cause of ovarian cancer remains unknown. Some researchers believe it has to do with the tissue-repair process that follows the monthly release of an egg through a tiny tear in an ovarian follicle (ovulation) during a woman's reproductive years. The formation and division of new cells at the rupture site may set up a situation in which genetic errors occur. Others propose that the increased hormone levels before and during ovulation may stimulate the growth of abnormal cells.
Ovarian cancer is a serious disease. If we know the risk factors and causes then we can minimize the risk of ovarian cancer. Heredity also plays a role in ovarian cancer. Know more about the risk factors.
Is ovarian cancer hereditary
For a woman with no family history of ovarian cancer, the chances of developing it are 1.4%. However, if one member of the family has been affected, the chances of getting this disease rise to 6%. And if 2 or 3 close relatives have had the disease, the family may be part of the hereditary cancer syndrome.
Is age an important factor
Although this disease is more common in women over the age of 40 and post-menopausal women, this disease has been known to strike the much younger women also, even 18-year olds.
Does diet play a role
There does appear to be a link between ovarian cancer and diets that are heavy in saturated fats. If you are in a high-risk category it is advisable to cut down on red meats and dairy products, especially whole fat milk.
Is there a link between fertility drugs and ovarian cancer
According to research conducted by the University of Washington, women who took the fertility drug 'clomiphene' for a year or longer were 11 times more likely to contract this disease. However, this could also indicate that the infertility itself was a cause of ovarian cancer. Much more research needs to be done in this area in order to draw conclusive links.
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The ovaries
The ovaries are part of a woman's reproductive system. They are in the pelvis. Each ovary is about the size of an almond.
The ovaries make the female hormones -- estrogen and progesterone. They also release eggs. An egg travels from an ovary through a fallopian tube to the womb (uterus).
When a woman goes through her "change of life" (menopause), her ovaries stop releasing eggs and make far lower levels of hormones.
Understanding ovarian cancer
Cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body.
Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.
Tumors can be benign or malignant:
Benign tumors are not cancer:
?Benign tumors are rarely life-threatening.
?Generally, benign tumors can be removed. They usually do not grow back.
?Benign tumors do not invade the tissues around them.
?Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
Malignant tumors are cancer:
?Malignant tumors are generally more serious than benign tumors. They may be life-threatening.
?Malignant tumors often can be removed. But sometimes they grow back.
?Malignant tumors can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
?Cells from malignant tumors can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells spread by breaking away from the original (primary) tumor and entering the lymphatic system or bloodstream. The cells invade other organs and form new tumors that damage these organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.
Benign and malignant cysts
An ovarian cyst may be found on the surface of an ovary or inside it. A cyst contains fluid. Sometimes it contains solid tissue too. Most ovarian cysts are benign (not cancer).
Most ovarian cysts go away with time. Sometimes, a doctor will find a cyst that does not go away or that gets larger. The doctor may order tests to make sure that the cyst is not cancer.
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer can invade, shed, or spread to other organs:
?Invade: A malignant ovarian tumor can grow and invade organs next to the ovaries, such as the fallopian tubes and uterus.
?Shed: Cancer cells can shed (break off) from the main ovarian tumor. Shedding into the abdomen may lead to new tumors forming on the surface of nearby organs and tissues. The doctor may call these seeds or implants.
?Spread: Cancer cells can spread through the lymphatic system to lymph nodes in the pelvis, abdomen, and chest. Cancer cells may also spread through the bloodstream to organs such as the liver and lungs.
When cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the original tumor. For example, if ovarian cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are actually ovarian cancer cells. The disease is metastatic ovarian cancer, not liver cancer. For that reason, it is treated as ovarian cancer, not liver cancer. Doctors call the new tumor "distant" or metastatic disease.
http://www.medicinenet.com/ovarian_cance…
Known risk factors for ovarian cancer include:
-getting older: women who are over 50 are more likely to develop ovarian cancer than younger women
-inheriting a faulty gene (called a gene mutation) that increases the risk of ovarian cancer
-having a strong family history of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, or some other cancers, including colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer.
Only around 5–10% of all ovarian cancers are due to inherited factors.
Research suggests that the risk of ovarian cancer is slightly higher for women who:
-have medical conditions such as endometriosis
-use long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
-smoke cigarettes
-are obese.
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