Ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment statistics

Routes to diagnosis

'Two-week wait' is the most common route to diagnosing ovarian cancer

Surgery Rate

Ovarian cancer patients receiving major surgical resection, 2006-10, England

 

Patient Experience

Ovarian cancer patients rating their care very good or excellent, 2014, England

Around a third (32%) of ovarian cancers cases in England are diagnosed via the ‘two-week wait’ referral route.[1] More than 4 in 10 (42%) of these cases with known stage are diagnosed early (stage I or II).[2]

More than a quarter (27%) of ovarian cancers cases in England are diagnosed after presenting as an emergency.[1] 8 in 10 (80%) of these cases with known stage are diagnosed late (stages III or IV).[2] 6 in 10 (60%) emergency presentation cases are via Accident and Emergency (A&E), with the other cases coming via an emergency GP referral, inpatient referral or outpatient referral.[3]

Around a quarter (26%) of ovarian cancers cases in England are diagnosed following a routine or urgent GP referral (but not under the ‘two-week wait’ referral route).[1] Almost 6 in 10 (59%) of these cases with known stage are diagnosed early (stage I or II).[2]

Ovarian Cancer (C56-C57.4), Percentage of Cases by Route to Diagnosis, Adults Aged 15-99, England, 2012-2013

Ovarian Cancer (C56-C57.4), Percentage of Cases by Stage for each Route to Diagnosis, Adults Aged (15-99), England, 2012-2013

See also

Routes to diagnosis by healthcare area, Local Authority or postcode

Ovarian cancer incidence by stage

Ovarian cancer survival by stage

National cancer intelligence network (NCIN) routes to diagnosis

Routes to diagnosis emergency presentation types

References

  1. National Cancer Intelligence Network. Routes to Diagnosis 2006-2013 workbook (a). London: NCIN; 2015.
  2. National Cancer Intelligence Network and Cancer Research UK. Routes to diagnosis of cancer by stage, 2012-2013 workbook. London: NCIN; 2016
  3. National Cancer Intelligence Network. Routes to diagnosis 2006-2013 workbook (b). London: NCIN; 2016.
  4. National Cancer Intelligence Network. Routes to diagnosis Site Specific Data Briefings 2006-2013. London: NCIN; 2016.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2012-2013, ICD-10 C56-C57.4

Routes to diagnosis statistics were calculated from cases of cancer registered in England which were diagnosed in 2012-2013. Staging proportions only include patients with a known stage (cases with an unknown stage at diagnosis are not included in the denominator).

Last reviewed:

'14-day / Two-week wait'

England meets the standard for their country on the percentage of patients first seen by a specialist within two weeks of urgent GP referral for suspected cancer.[1]

'Two-week wait' supports early diagnosis as spotting cancer early is important for improving survival, so it is important that patients with potential cancer symptoms are referred promptly.

'31-day wait'

Scotland meets the standard for their country on the percentage of patients that receive their first cancer treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat, while Northern Ireland and Wales do not meet the standard for their country.[2-4]

The speed at which patients receive their first treatment can have a positive outcome on their clinical outcome, so it is important that patients with cancer symptoms are treated promptly.

'62-day wait'

Scotland meets the standard for their country on the percentage of patients receiving their first definitive treatment for cancer within two months of a GP referral for suspected ovarian cancer, while Wales and Northern Ireland do not meet the standard for their country for gynaecological cancers and Scotland does not meet the standard for their country for cervical cancer.[2-4]

The speed at which patients receive their first treatment can have a positive outcome on their clinical outcome, so it is important that patients with cancer symptoms are treated promptly.

Cancer waiting times coding and standards are different in each country and so comparisons should not be made between countries, only each country against their own measures.

Gynaecological Cancer, Waiting Times, UK countries, 2014-15

    England Wales Scotland (cervical cancer only) Scotland (ovarian cancer only) Northern Ireland
'14-day wait': seen by specialist following referral Performance 95.1%        
Standard 93%        
Performance against standard Meets standard        
'31-day wait': receipt of first treatment following decision to treat Performance   97.8% 97.3% 98.8% 96.3%
Standard   98% 95% 95% 98%
Performance against standard   Does not meet standard Meets standard Meets standard Does not meet standard
'62-day wait': receipt of first treatment following referral Performance   81.6% 94.0% 95.0% 70.3%
Standard   95% 95% 95% 95%
Performance against standard   Does not meet standard Meets standard Meets standard Does not meet standard

Data not available for '14-day wait' in Wales, Scotland or NI.
Data not available for '31- or 62-day wait' in England.
Data for Scotland is for cervical cancer and ovarian cancer only, and separately.

See also

Cancer waiting times by UK by healthcare area, Local Authority or postcode

Learn about cancer waiting times data, codes and tumour groups

References

  1. NHS England. Cancer waiting times(link is external).Accessed May 2015.
  2. StatsWales. Cancer waiting times(link is external). Accessed May 2015. 
  3. ISD Scotland. Cancer Waiting Times(link is external). Accessed June 2015. 
  4. Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Cancer Waiting Times(link is external). Accessed June 2015.
Last reviewed:

Around 6 in 10 (59%) ovarian cancer patients receive a major surgical resection as part of their cancer treatment.[1] 

The proportion of ovarian cancer patients receiving a resection varies with age, with fewer resections in the oldest age group (15% in those aged 85+) compared with the youngest (81% in those aged 15-54).[1]

Ovarian cancer (C56-C57), Proportion of Patients Receiving a Major Surgical Resection, by Age, England, 2006-2010

 

References

  1. National Cancer Intelligence Network and Cancer Research UK. Major resections by cancer site, in England; 2006 to 2010 workbook (Version 2.0 - reissued June 2015). London: NCIN; 2015.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2006-2010, ICD-10 C56-C57

Last reviewed:

87% of ovarian cancer patients rate their care as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’.[1] Patient experience varies with individual needs and concerns, which are influenced by many aspects of personal background, disease characteristics and the care environment.

90% of patients were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist in charge of their care.[1] Being given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist in charge of a patients’ care is the factor most likely to be associated with high patient satisfaction scores.[2]

47% said they saw their GP once or twice before being told they had to go to hospital.[1] How often a patient sees their GP before being referred to hospital varies by cancer type depending on ease of diagnosis.[3]

For ovarian cancer the proportion that said they saw their GP once or twice before being told they had to go to hospital is lower than the average for all cancer patients.[1]

Spotting cancer early is important for improving survival so it is important that patients with potential cancer symptoms are referred for tests promptly.

Ovarian Cancer (C56-C57.4), Patient Experience Survey, Females, England, 2014

Female
Percentage of patients treated for cancer who visited their GP once or twice about the health problem caused by their cancer 47.0%
Percentage of patients treated for cancer who said they were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist in charge of their care 89.8%
Percentage of patients treated for cancer who rated their overall care as excellent or very good 87.2%

See also

More results from the Cancer Patient Experience Survey

Trust level data on our Local Cancer Statistics

References

  1. Department of Health. Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2014. Accessed October 2015.
  2. Department of Health. National Cancer Patient Experience Survey Programme: 2010 National Survey Report. Accessed October 2015.
  3. Lyratzopoulos G1, Neal RD, Barbiere JM et al. Variation in number of general practitioner consultations before hospital referral for cancer: findings from the 2010 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey in England. Lancet Oncol 2012;13(4):353-65.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2014, ICD-10 C56-C57.4

Patient Experience data is for adult patients in England with a primary diagnosis of cancer and who had been in active treatment between September and November 2013 who completed a survey in 2014.

Last reviewed:

Cancer stats explained

See information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.

Cancer stats explained

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