A Critical Review on the Impact of Aging on Development and Prognosis, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in the Elderly

Abstract

There would be a significant rise in the number of older women globally and this increase is expected to continue exponentially in decades to come. Older women are those aged 65 years and above, and they have higher cancer incidence and mortality rates relative to their younger counterparts. Most epithelial ovarian cancers occur in older women and chronic inflammation, age-related genetic aberrations and the impact of endogenous and exogenous stimuli including viruses are thought to play significant roles in the aetiologic processes that lead to the development of epithelial ovarian cancer. The diagnosis of ovarian cancer is difficult and age-related frailty and poor performance status in this category of patients make the choice of available treatment difficult.