Home > Encyclopedia of Cancer > Ovarian Cancer

Definition

Ovarian cancer is cancer of the ovaries, the egg-releasing and hormone-producing organs of the female reproductive tract. Cancerous, or malignant, cells divide and multiply in an abnormal fashion.

Description

The ovaries are small, almond-shaped organs, located in the pelvic region, one on either side of the uterus.

When a woman is in her childbearing years, the ovaries alternate to produce and release an egg each month during the menstrual cycle. The released egg is picked-up by the adjacent fallopian tube, and continues down towards the uterus. The ovaries also produce and secrete the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, which regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, as well...