Improvement, slow but real

Demographic trends in mortality due to ovarian cancer in the United States, 1999-2020

https://tinyurl.com/2py9489j

Progress in care for patients with ovarian cancer can be slow. It often seems that a cure is impossible and that there has been no improvement in the outcomes for women who face this great challenge.

However, it is important to recognise that change is occurring and that survival has significantly increased over recent times. This survey looks at mortality due to ovarian cancer and the trend of improvement in the US over the current century.

Using data from the CDC epidemiological database the decrease in deaths from ovarian cancer is shown with a reduction from the initial rate of 14.6/100,000 in 1999 to 10.2/100,000 in 2020. This dramatic change no doubt reflects better care and earlier detection of disease.

Sadly, the data also shows that this improvement is not universal. Somewhat surprisingly the death rate is highest in non-Hispanic white women at 13.5/100,000, whereas Asian women deaths from ovarian cancer declined to 7.5/100,000 over this time interval.

This disparity may be due to differences in BRCA mutation and age. Overall, it is encouraging to note the changing prognosis for ovarian cancer.