Introduction. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer in the United States. There is limited data on presentation and outcomes among Hispanic women with ovarian cancer. Objective. To investigate how ovarian cancer presents among Hispanic women in the USA and to analyze differences in presentation, staging, and survival between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women with ovarian cancer. Methods. Data from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2004 were extracted from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Results. The study sample comprised 1215 Hispanics (10%), 10 652 non-Hispanic whites (83%), and 905 non-Hispanic blacks (7%). Hispanic women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer at a younger age and earlier stage when compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks; . Similar proportion of Hispanics (33%), non-Hispanic whites (32%), and non-Hispanic blacks (24%) underwent lymphadenectomy; . Hispanics with epithelial ovarian cancer histology had longer five-year survival of 30.6 months compared to non-Hispanic whites (22.8 months) and non-Hispanic blacks (23.3 months); . Conclusion. Hispanic women with ovarian cancer have a statistically significantly longer median survival compared to whites and blacks. This survival difference was most apparent in patients with epithelial cancers and patients with stage IV disease. 1. Introduction Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of mortality among gynecologic cancers diagnosed in the United States (USA) [1]. The American Cancer Society has estimated that approximately 22,280 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed during 2012 making it the ninth most common cancer diagnosed among women living in the USA. It is also estimated that 15,500 women will die of this disease, making it the fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the USA during 2012 [2]. Sporadic ovarian cancer has a peak age of incidence of 60–70 years [1]. The disease is typically diagnosed in advanced stage (stage III/IV), partly because there is no routine screening procedure for ovarian cancer among women in the general population [3], and as yet, no reliable screening biomarker has been detected. Cancer Antigen (CA 125) measurements do not have adequate sensitivity and specificity to satisfy requirements for use as a screening tool [4]. Overall 5-year survival rate in women with ovarian cancer is 46% and is related to stage of disease at diagnosis. Five-year survival rates are 93%, 71%, and 31% for local, regional, and distant disease, respectively [5]. Important
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