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Patient Education

Taking Charge: If You Are at High Risk for Ovarian Cancer

Related Conditions
Breast Cancer
Ovarian Cancer

If you have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, your doctor may periodically order a blood test that has shown some usefulness in finding epithelial ovarian cancer. It measures a substance in the blood called CA-125. Unfortunately, this test is not very specific. Levels of CA-125 may be elevated in women who do not have ovarian cancer, or they may be low in women who do.

Another test that is sometimes used to screen high-risk women is transvaginal sonography. This involves putting a small instrument in the vagina to image the ovaries with sound waves. No radiation is involved.

Many cases of familial epithelial ovarian cancer that result from inherited abnormalities in the gene (genetic mutations) can be identified by genetic testing. Inherited mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for about 5 percent to 10 percent of breast and ovarian cancers. In most people, these genes make proteins that keep cells from growing abnormally. If a woman has inherited a mutated gene from either parent, this cancer-preventing protein is less effective.

About half of women with inherited BRCA1 mutations will develop breast and/or ovarian cancer by the age of 70. A mutation in the BRCA2 gene also increases the risk of developing ovarian cancer, but not as much as the BRCA1 mutation. In addition, a rare type of colon cancer that runs in families, hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, somewhat increases the risk for developing ovarian cancer.

Deciding whether to undergo genetic testing is a complicated process. A genetic counselor can walk you through the process and make sure that you consider all the arguments for and against testing.

Continue reading

Preventive Treatment Options for High-Risk Women

Use of Oral Contraceptives

Taking birth control pills may decrease ovarian cancer in women at high risk — possibly reducing the cancer risk by half. However, their use may increase the risk of breast cancer in women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, so additional research is needed.

Preventive Surgery (Prophylactic Oophorectomy)

Sometimes high-risk women elect to have both ovaries removed before cancer occurs. This surgery (prophylactic oophorectomy) is usually recommended only for very high-risk women who have completed their child-bearing, because it causes premature menopause. Women who undergo prophylactic oophorectomy may still occasionally develop a primary peritoneal cancer (cancer of the tissue lining the abdomen), which can behave like ovarian cancer.

Read More:

  • Next section of Taking Charge: Screening for Ovarian Cancer

Return to the Taking Charge Index

  • What Is Breast Cancer?
  • Who Gets Breast Cancer?
  • If You Are at High Risk for Breast Cancer
  • Screening for Breast Cancer
  • How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed?
  • How Is Breast Cancer Treated?
  • What Is Ovarian Cancer?
  • Who Gets Ovarian Cancer?
  • If You Are at High Risk for Ovarian Cancer
  • Screening for Ovarian Cancer
  • How Is Ovarian Cancer Diagnosed?
  • How is Ovarian Cancer Treated?
  • Living With Cancer
  • Diet, Lifestyle and Cancer
  • Glossary of Terms

UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.

Recommended reading

Basic Facts About Breast Health

Learn basic facts about breast structure and function and how to differentiate between the different types and stages of breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Glossary

Check out our comprehensive Glossary of Breast Cancer terminology, which includes definitions of everything from AC chemotherapy to peripheral neuropathy.

Breast Cancer Risk Factors

Click now to find a summary of the factors that increase risk for developing breast cancer, including both factors that we cannot change and those we can.

Self-Care and Recovery

Self-Care and recovery resources including an Introduction to Lifestyle Change, Nutrition and Breast Cancer, Hydration: Water and Health, Meditation and more.

Breast Reconstruction

Breast reconstruction, surgery to rebuild a breast's shape, is often an option after mastectomy and is covered by some health insurance plans. Learn more now.

Follow-Up Care for Breast Cancer Patients

After patients have completed treatment for early stage breast cancer, one of the common questions is, "How should I best be monitored?" Learn more here.

Mastectomy: Instructions Before Surgery

The following information will help you prepare for your upcoming Mastectomy surgery. If you have any questions, please contact the Breast Care Center staff.

Mastectomy: Instructions After Surgery

Post Mastectomy surgery instructions including, pain management, incision and dressing care, activity, diet, follow-up care and more.

Menopause and Breast Cancer

Breast cancer treatment often causes women to enter menopause prematurely. Although each woman reacts to therapy individually, certain side effects are common.

Metastatic Breast Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that originated in the breast and has spread to other organ systems in the body. Learn more here.

Navigating Your Path to Breast Care

Different services and information are needed at different points in breast health care and breast cancer treatment. Learn more here.

Osteoporosis and Breast Cancer

Women who have had breast cancer or are considered at high risk for developing breast cancer are at risk for developing osteoporosis. Learn more.

Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

The UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center and the Department of Radiation Oncology have compiled information about radiation therapy for your convenience.

Related clinics

Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program

UCSF-John Muir Health Cancer Center in Berkeley

See all five of our Bay Area locations and learn about the program.

Breast Care Center

Berkeley Outpatient Center

3100 San Pablo Ave., Suite 280
Berkeley, CA 94702

(415) 353-7070

Gynecologic Oncology Center

Bakar Precision Cancer Medicine Building

See all 3 of our Bay Area locations and learn more about the center.

(415) 353-9600

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Did you know?

In 1981, UCSF's Gail Martin co-discovered embryonic stem cells in mice and coined the term "embryonic stem cell." Today, our stem cell center is one of the largest in the U.S., and our researchers there are developing new treatment strategies for a broad range of disorders, including heart disease, diabetes, neurological conditions and cancer.

Learn more
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