Ovarian Cancer Risk Factors
Researchers have discovered several risk factors that might increase a person’s chance of developing epithelial ovarian cancer. These risk factors don’t apply to other less common types of ovarian cancer like germ cell tumors and stromal tumors.
What is a risk factor?
A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease like cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be changed. Others, like a person’s age or family history, can’t be changed.
Having a risk factor, or even many, does not mean that you will get the disease. Some people who get the disease may not have any known risk factors.
Factors that increase your risk of ovarian cancer
- Older age
- Inherited gene mutations, such as BRCA1, BRCA2, or Lynch syndrome
- Starting menstrual cycle before 12 years old
- Starting menopause after 52 years old
- No personal history of giving birth
- Endometriosis (abnormal growth of tissue that lines the inside of the uterus)
- Radiation exposure to the pelvis
Older age
The risk of developing ovarian cancer gets higher with age. Ovarian cancer is rare in women younger than 40. Most ovarian cancers develop after menopause. Half of all ovarian cancers are found in women 63 years of age or older.
Inherited gene mutations
Up to 25% of ovarian cancers are a part of family cancer syndromes resulting from inherited changes (mutations) in certain genes.
This syndrome is caused by inherited mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, as well as possibly some other genes that have not yet been found. This syndrome is linked to a high risk of breast cancer as well as ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers. The risk of some other cancers, such as pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer, is also increased.
Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are also responsible for most inherited ovarian cancers. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are about 10 times more common in those who are Ashkenazi Jewish than those in the general U.S. population.
The lifetime ovarian cancer risk for women with a BRCA1 mutation is estimated to be between 35% and 70%. This means that if 100 women had a BRCA1 mutation, between 35 and 70 of them would get ovarian cancer. For women with BRCA2 mutations the risk has been estimated to be between 10% and 30% by age 70. These mutations also increase the risk of primary peritoneal carcinoma and fallopian tube carcinoma.
In comparison, the ovarian cancer lifetime risk for the women in the general population is less than 2%.
For more information, see Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome.
People with this rare genetic syndrome develop polyps in the stomach and intestine while they are teenagers. They also have a high risk of cancer, particularly cancers of the digestive tract (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon). Women with this syndrome have an increased risk of ovarian cancer, including both epithelial ovarian cancer, a type of stromal tumor called sex cord tumor with annular tubules (SCTAT), and STK11 adnexal tumor. This syndrome is caused by mutations in the gene STK11.
People with this syndrome develop polyps in the colon and small intestine and have a high risk of colon cancer. They are also more likely to develop other cancers, including cancers of the ovary and bladder. This syndrome is caused by mutations in the gene MUTYH.
Factors that can lower your risk of ovarian cancer
- Surgery to remove certain reproductive organ(s)
- Oral contraceptives
- Intrauterine device (IUD)
- Breast feeding
- Pregnancy
Surgery
Removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries (bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy), removal of the uterus (hysterectomy), and tying the fallopian tubes (tubal ligation) may reduce the chance of developing certain types of ovarian cancer.
If you are going to have a hysterectomy for a valid medical reason and you have a strong family history of ovarian or breast cancer, you should discuss the potential risks and benefit of also removing your fallopian tubes and ovaries.
An option for average risk women who do not wish to have their ovaries removed because they don’t want to lose ovarian function and go through menopause early is to have just the fallopian tubes removed (bilateral salpingectomy) along with the uterus (hysterectomy). They may choose to have their ovaries removed later. This has not been studied as well, but there is enough information that it may be considered an option to reduce ovarian cancer risk in average risk women.
Oral contraceptives
Using oral contraceptives (birth control pills) decreases the risk of developing ovarian cancer for average risk women and BRCA mutation carriers, especially among women who use them for several years. Women who used oral contraceptives for 5 or more years have about a 50% lower risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women who never used oral contraceptives. Still, birth control pills do have some serious risks and side effects, including slightly increasing breast cancer risk. If you are considering taking these drugs for any reason, talk to your doctor first about the possible risks and benefits.
Intrauterine device
Other forms of birth control such as use of IUDs (intrauterine devices) have also been associated with a lower risk of ovarian cancer.
Breast feeding
Studies have shown that breast feeding is protective against the risk of having ovarian cancer. Specifically, the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower her risk.
Pregnancy
Women who have been pregnant and carried it to term before age 26 have a lower risk of ovarian cancer than women who have not. The risk goes down with each full-term pregnancy.
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- References
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
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Last Revised: August 25, 2025
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