Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, and Peritoneal Cancer: Statistics

Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 03/2023

ON THIS PAGE: You will find information about the estimated number of people who will be diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer each year. You will also read general information about surviving the disease. Remember, survival rates depend on several factors, and no 2 people with cancer are the same. Use the menu to see other pages.

Every person is different, with different factors influencing their risk of being diagnosed with this cancer and the chance of recovery after a diagnosis. It is important to talk with your doctor about any questions you have around the general statistics provided below and what they may mean for you individually. The original sources for these statistics are provided at the bottom of this page.

How many people are diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer?

In 2023, an estimated 19,710 people in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The vast majority of these cases (90%) are epithelial ovarian cancer, most of which are high-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSC). Most cases of HGSC begin in a fallopian tube. Worldwide, an estimated 313,959 people were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2020.

The number of new ovarian cancer cases decreased between 1% to 2% each year from 1990 to the mid-2010s, and by close to 3% each year from 2015 to 2019. This positive trend may be due to a higher use of oral contraceptives and the reduced use of hormone therapy for menopause in the 2000s. Ovarian cancer is more common in White women than in Black women, and it most commonly develops in older people. About half of people diagnosed with ovarian cancer are 63 or older.

It is estimated that 13,270 deaths from ovarian cancer will occur in the United States in 2023. In 2020, an estimated 207,252 people worldwide died from ovarian cancer. Combined, cancer of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and peritoneum are the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death in women in the United States. The death rate steadily declined by 2% each year in the 2000s and early 2010s and by more than 3% each year from 2016 to 2020. This decline in death rate is mostly due to fewer cases and advances in treatment.

What is the survival rate for ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer?

There are different types of statistics that can help doctors evaluate a person’s chance of recovery from ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer. These are called survival statistics. A specific type of survival statistic is called the relative survival rate. It is often used to predict how having cancer may affect life expectancy. Relative survival rate looks at how likely people with ovarian cancer are to survive for a certain amount of time after their initial diagnosis or start of treatment compared to the expected survival of similar people without this cancer.

Example: Here is an example to help explain what a relative survival rate means. Please note this is only an example and not specific to this type of cancer. Let’s assume that the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific type of cancer is 90%. “Percent” means how many out of 100. Imagine there are 1,000 people without cancer, and based on their age and other characteristics, you expect 900 of the 1,000 to be alive in 5 years. Also imagine there are another 1,000 people similar in age and other characteristics as the first 1,000, but they all have the specific type of cancer that has a 5-year survival rate of 90%. This means it is expected that 810 of the people with the specific cancer (90% of 900) will be alive in 5 years.

It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer are only an estimate. They cannot tell an individual person if cancer will or will not shorten their life. Instead, these statistics describe trends in groups of people previously diagnosed with the same disease, including specific stages of the disease.

The 5-year relative survival rate for all types of ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers in the United States is 50%. For Black women, the 5-year relative survival rate is 41%. For Asian American/Pacific Islander women, the 5-year relative survival rate is 58%.

The survival rates vary based on several factors. These include the stage, cell type, and grade of cancer, a person’s age and general health, and how well the treatment plan works. For example, the 5-year relative survival rate for women younger than 65 is 61%, compared with 33% for women 65 and older. Survival rates are also improved when debulking surgery is performed by a gynecologic oncologist instead of a gynecologist or general surgeon (see Types of Treatment).

If ovarian and fallopian tube cancers are diagnosed and treated before they spread outside the ovaries and tubes, the 5-year relative survival rate is 93%. Approximately 20% of women with epithelial ovarian and fallopian tube cancer are diagnosed at this stage. If the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs, the 5-year relative survival rate is 74%. If the cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year relative survival rate is 31%. An estimated 57% people are diagnosed at this stage.

Experts measure relative survival rate statistics for ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer every 5 years. This means the estimate may not reflect the results of advancements in how ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer is diagnosed or treated from the last 5 years. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics.

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society's publications, Cancer Facts & Figures 2023 and Cancer Facts & Figures 2022, the ACS website, the International Agency for Research on Cancer website, and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. (All sources accessed March 2023.)

The next section in this guide is Medical Illustrations. It offers drawings of body parts often affected by ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.