Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Español

ovarian cancer

(oh-VAYR-ee-un KAN-ser)
Cancer that forms in tissues of the ovary (one of a pair of female reproductive glands in which the ova, or eggs, are formed). Most ovarian cancers are either ovarian epithelial cancers (cancer that begins in the cells on the surface of the ovary) or malignant germ cell tumors (cancer that begins in egg cells). Fallopian tube cancer and primary peritoneal cancer are similar to ovarian epithelial cancer and are staged and treated the same way.
Search NCI's Dictionary of Cancer Terms