Ovarian cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current state and future

Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death due to a gynaecological malignancy with a 5 year-survival rate of 45%. In Africa, ovarian cancer incidence is predicted to triple in the next 15 years in a background of social, political and other health turmoil within the country. Ovarian cancer is more often than not, diagnosed in advanced stages owing to vague presentation symptoms. In the UK, consolidated efforts are being made to improve identification of early stage ovarian cancer, risk reduction procedures, optimal debulking and appropriate adjuvant treatment. In this chapter we discuss the incidence, pathology and evidence based management of ovarian cancers. Whilst replication of the latter in a resource limited setting such as sub-Saharan Africa might not be possible, each hospital could optimize care for ovarian cancer with a well-designed protocol for radical, palliative and prophylactic treatment of ovarian cancers.