An estimated 26,800 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1997, and an estimated 14,200 women died from ovarian cancer in 1997. The disease will affect approximately 25,400 additional women, and approximately 14,500 women will die from ovarian cancer in 1998. In addition, millions of women remain fearful and concerned about being diagnosed with this too often fatal disease.

While early detection improves the chances that ovarian cancer can be treated successfully, early cancers of the ovaries rarely cause symptoms that women would notice, or the symptoms are mistaken for menopausal ailments or intestinal illnesses.As a result, almost 70 percent of women with ovarian cancer are not diagnosed until the disease is advanced in stage.The 5-year survival rate for these women is only 15 to 20 percent. More than ever, there is a need for
a greater awareness and understanding of ovarian cancer.

An agenda for investigative efforts into the areas of basic science and translational research, genetic susceptibility and prevention, diagnostic imaging, screening and diagnosis, and therapy holds the most promise for future discoveries leading to improved prevention, detection, and treatment of ovarian cancer.

The United States Public Health Service’s Office on Women’s Health (PHS OWH), the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in an effort to put ovarian cancer at the forefront of our nation’s cancer research agenda, sponsored a Strategic Planning Conference on New Directions in Ovarian Cancer Research on December 8 and 9, 1997, in Washington, DC.The purpose of the conference was to outline the priorities for ovarian cancer research over the next 5 years.

The conference brought together a group of experts in gynecologic oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging, molecular biology, molecular endocrinology, and genetics, already armed with the knowledge of current procedures and techniques, to answer the following key questions for the strategic plan:

• What are the research priorities for ovarian cancer?
• What must be done to implement the research priorities?
• What are the challenges and barriers that must be overcome to implement the research priorities?
• What are the positive effects this research could eventually have on patient care?

Download New Directions In Ovarian Cancer Research.pdf