What is (are) Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer ?
Key Points
                    - Ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers are diseases in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or peritoneum.    - In the United States, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women.    -  Different factors increase or decrease the risk of getting ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer.
                
                
                    Ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers are diseases in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or peritoneum.
                    The ovaries are a pair of organs in the female reproductive system. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus (the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a fetus grows). Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries produce eggs and female hormones (chemicals that control the way certain cells or organs function).   The fallopian tubes are a pair of long, slender tubes, one on each side of the uterus. Eggs pass from the ovaries, through the fallopian tubes, to the uterus. Cancer sometimes begins at the end of the fallopian tube near the ovary and spreads to the ovary.   The peritoneum is the tissue that lines the abdominal wall and covers organs in the abdomen. Primary peritoneal cancer is cancer that forms in the peritoneum and has not spread there from another part of the body. Cancer sometimes begins in the peritoneum and spreads to the ovary.     Ovarian epithelial cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and primary peritoneal cancer form in the same type of tissue. Studies of screening tests look at these cancers together.    See the following PDQ summaries for more information about ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers:         -   Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer Prevention     -  Genetics of Breast and Gynecologic Cancers     -  Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer Treatment     -  Ovarian Germ Cell Tumors Treatment     -  Ovarian Low Malignant Potential Tumors Treatment
                
                
                    In the United States, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women.
                    Ovarian cancer is also the leading cause of death from cancer of the female reproductive system. Over the last 20 years, the number of new cases of ovarian cancer has gone down slightly in white women and in black women. Since 2005, the number of deaths from ovarian cancer also decreased slightly in white and black women.