User:Barbara (WVS)/sandbox/ovarian cancer in older women

Ovarian cancer in older women is a description of the unique characteristics of women with ovarian cancer in two sub-populations, the elderly and the very elderly. Almost every woman in these populations has other health issues or comorbidities that complicates cancer treatment when compared to younger populations. These comorbities, and not necessarily age itself, complicates the use of surgery and chemeotherapies to treat their ovarian cancer. Treatment for ovarian cancer in the elderly differs 'significantly' from the treatments given to younger women. Survival in the elderly with ovarian cancer also differs significantly from younger women.

Scope
The elderly population of women is defined by those who are greater than or equal to 65-years old. This will reach 80 million in the US by 2037. Estimates of incidence for this population approaches 50% of of the women with ovarian cancer being 55-years-old and the median age of 65-years-old.

Older women
In the US, the incidence rate in women over 50 is approximately 33 per 100,000. The rate of ovarian cancer between 1993 and 2008 decreased in women of the 40–49 age cohort and in the 50–64 age cohort. Ovarian cancer is most commonly diagnosed after menopause, between the ages of 60 and 64. Ninety percent of ovarian cancer occurs in women over the age of 45 and 80% in women over 50. Older women are more likely to present with advanced ovarian cancer.