Pronunciation: (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.
Source: NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms2005-10-24 Date last modified: 2014-12-27