Health Disparities in Ovarian Cancer

Health disparity, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations,” is seen across multiple diseases. We conducted an evidence review of health disparities and inequities and their mitigation strategies related to ovarian cancer as part of a CDC-sponsored project to develop educational materials for clinicians on the prevention and early diagnosis of gynecologic cancers. Our review found profound disparities in outcomes such as survival, treatment, and stage at diagnosis by factors such as race and ethnicity, insurance, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. We found little direct evidence on mitigation strategies. Studies support equivalent response to equivalent treatment between groups, suggesting that adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines can at least partially mitigate some of the differences.