Ovarian Cancer
Known Symptoms
- Early-stage: Often asymptomatic or vague symptoms.
- Advanced-stage:
- Abdominal bloating/pressure, pelvic pain.
- Early satiety, urinary urgency/frequency.Unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
- Red flags:
- Rapidly increasing abdominal girth (due to ascites).
- Palpable pelvic/abdominal mass.
- Family history of breast/ovarian cancer.
Known Causes
- Etiology: Genetic factors (e.g., BRCA1/2 mutations, Lynch syndrome). Hormonal influences (nulliparity, early menarche, late menopause). Endometriosis (increases risk of clear cell and endometrioid subtypes).
- Pathophysiology:
- Most high-grade serous carcinomas originate from the fallopian tube epithelium (fimbria) with secondary ovarian involvement.
- Tumorigenesis involves mutations in TP53, homologous recombination repair genes (e.g., BRCA), and PI3K/AKT pathway activation.
Care
- Prevention:
- Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (for BRCA carriers).
- Oral contraceptives (reduce risk in general population).
- Screening:
- No effective screening for the general population.
- High-risk women: TVUS + CA-125 every 6 months (though limited efficacy).
- Follow-up:
- Physical exam, CA-125 monitoring, CT imaging every 3-6 months initially.
- Symptom surveillance for recurrence (most recur within the first 2 years).
- Genetic counseling for family members.
- Early-stage: Often asymptomatic or vague symptoms.
- Advanced-stage:
- Abdominal bloating/pressure, pelvic pain.
- Early satiety, urinary urgency/frequency.Unexplained weight loss, fatigue.
- Red flags:
- Rapidly increasing abdominal girth (due to ascites).
- Palpable pelvic/abdominal mass.
- Family history of breast/ovarian cancer.
Featured Specialities
Our Speciality Services
Oncology
Our Cancer Center offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary cancer care within a quaternary hospital setting, ensuring that every form of therapy and supportive service is available under one roof. With dedicated departments in Medical, Surgical, Radiation and Hemato-Oncology, Nuclear Medicine, Genomics and Palliative Care, our experienced teams deliver evidence-based, personalised treatment through advanced technologies such as linear accelerators, PET-CT, NGS-based precision oncology, CAR-T therapy and bone marrow transplantation. Every patient’s case is reviewed by a multi-specialty tumour board to design an individualised, multimodality treatment plan, supported by outpatient daycare chemotherapy, advanced radiotherapy techniques, minimally invasive surgeries and targeted nuclear therapies. From early detection and screening to rehabilitation, survivorship and end-of-life care, we focus not only on treating cancer but on delivering compassionate, coordinated and patient-centred care at every stage.
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