Hereditary ovarian cancer: Heterogeneity in age at onset

Background. Hereditary ovarian cancer (HOC) is heterogeneous, with at least three distinctive syndromes, namely, hereditary site-specific ovarian cancer, hereditary breast-ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome, and Lynch syndrome II. Ovarian cancer, in accord with virtually all varieties of adult onset cancer, displays an increasing incidence with advancing age; however, it shows an earlier age of onset in hereditary settings. Methods. Detailed medical and pathology studies were performed on extended ovarian cancer-prone pedigrees, with special attention given to age at ovarian cancer onset