Epidemiological data of ovarian cancer in Vojvodina and south great plain region in Hungary in 2007-2012 period: Crossbiomark IPA PROJECT HUSRB/1203/214/091

Background: Ovarian cancer is among the sixth leading cancers in Vojvodina and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among female population in Vojvodina according to Cancer Registry of Vojvodina in 2010. The majority of ovarian cancers cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, FIGO stage III-IV with poor prognosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate newly diagnosed ovarian cancer among female population in Vojvodina (Serbia) and South Great Plain region in Hungary in 2007- 2012 period. Methods: The evaluation was based on the data from hospital registries for malignant diseases at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina and the Department of Oncotherapy, University of Szeged. Results: The majority of patients were diagnosed in advanced disease (FIGO stage III-IV) in both regions. Serous epithelial ovarian cancer was the most common cancer type among studied women in both regions. The average age of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer was 60 years; there was no significant statistical difference related to patients’ age in both studied regions. Advanced stage of ovarian cancer investigated in our study showed a moderate descend- ing liner trend with no significant statistical difference. The results from our study were similar when compared with the epidemiological data from the literature. Conclusion: The lack of efficient screening methods is the major obstacle to improve the prognosis of women affected by this disease. Further investigations and introduction of new technologies applied to medical discoveries offers new hope for finding effective screening policies.