The Coalition at ESGO 2025 in Rome by Frances Reid

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I had a great opportunity last week to showcase the Every Woman Study, low- and middle-income (LMIC) edition at the European Society for Gynaecologic Oncology Meeting in Rome, with a poster outlining potentially novel indicators for optimal cytoreductive surgery beyond age and stage of disease on diagnosis. Using data from 2446 women in the 22 LMICs, our initial analysis shows levels of awareness, family income, human development index status of the country and distance to treatment centre as potentially also playing a part.

Click here to read the poster. 

Conferences such as these are very much about the latest treatments or procedures and constantly push the boundaries of what clinicians can achieve. It was great to hear after several years, the language coming together around the use of PARP inhibitors – “not using them on women with BRCA mutations or those who have homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is akin to causing harm”, and the first breakthrough in several years for women who are platinum resistant, with Mirvetuximab, an antibody conjugate drug or ADC. Are you lost already in the acronyms? It is all very positive, but for the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, and clinicians working in low- and middle-income countries, these treatments, and the genomic profile/genetic testing that are needed to correctly use these drugs are still a pipe dream in many situations. It’s not just about access, but affordability, with the very expensive price tags falling on the women and their families. Not one patient in our African cohort in the study received a PARP inhibitor.

So it felt like an important moment to get issues like this raised. I was also really interested to come across work by the GINECO group looking at KELIM scores in Japanese women. KELIM is an emerging method of using CA125 scores to predict responsiveness to chemotherapy, and in the future could also help determine HRD status in the form of a very cheap test. They showed that for Japanese women, the cut off figures for CA125 would need to be different, basically that women from different ethnic backgrounds respond differently, yet for the time being, all women are prescribed drugs and procedures based on trials carried out on mainly white women in the global north. There was also an interesting presentation on toxicity with PARP inhibitors, and how that varied, depending on where the mutations in the BRCA gene occurred. The future really could be much more personalised medicine, as long as the ovarian cancer community and governments work hard to involve and include women from diverse backgrounds.

It’s always hard to know how many people saw the EWS poster, but I had some positive chats with researchers, the poster was also available online and will be published in the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer. I was delighted as well to meet Dr Edson Mamani, from Arequipa in Peru. He bounded up to me like an old friend, to let me know he had been one of the doctors recruiting women into the study, and was thrilled to have taken part in such an important piece of work.

Thank you ESGO for the opportunity.

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Ovarian Cancer Costs Countries Over $70 Billion Annually, According to a Groundbreaking Global Study by the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition

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TORONTO – February 20, 2025 (Business Wire) – The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition (the Coalition) announced today the publication of a first-of-its-kind study that reveals the major socioeconomic burden ovarian cancer has on communities around the world. Co-authored with the research institute RTI International, the study reveals the significant costs and defines actions needed to improve survival and quality of life for ovarian cancer patients and their caregivers.

Published in JCO Global Oncology, a leading peer-reviewed medical journal, the landmark “Socioeconomic Burden of Ovarian Cancer in 11 Countries Study” reveals the staggering $70 billion burden of ovarian cancer, with over 90% of these costs resulting from lives lost. The study examined data from a diverse group of countries representing a range of income levels: Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

World Ovarian Cancer Coalition CEO Clara MacKay says, “This unique study demonstrates the significant impact ovarian cancer has on women, their families and carers, health services and the wider economy. Behind these staggering numbers, there are many untold stories of women’s lives being disrupted, facing severe financial hardship and stigma due to their ovarian cancer. We hope, and expect, that by shining a light on the impact of ovarian cancer, policy makers will commit to a formal plan to address the challenges faced by women and acknowledge that by supporting them, society as a whole can benefit.”

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal forms of cancer, with significantly low survival rates. According to Globocan’s 2022 projections, by 2050, the number of women around the world diagnosed with ovarian cancer will grow by 55%. Without improved prevention and control measures, mortality will increase by 70%. 

Global Health Inequity

The study’s findings underscore not only the moral and public health imperative to address ovarian cancer but also the urgent economic need to prioritize action. The study highlights significant losses in labor productivity, estimating that 2.5 million workdays are lost annually due to ovarian cancer. Furthermore, more than 9,400 women are absent from the workforce due to the disease. Caregivers, often overlooked in public health planning, dedicate an average of 33 days per year providing essential support to loved ones battling ovarian cancer. 

Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, World Ovarian Cancer Coalition Global Ambassador, President-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and Champion for Women’s Health of the World Economic Forum’s Global Alliance for Women’s Health, added, “Advocates and health professionals in Nigeria work within a socio-cultural system where awareness is poor and presents a huge barrier. Ovarian cancer represents a significant yet understated challenge to women, caregivers as well as our health system and economy. This vital study confirms that and helps us identify the interventions and investments needed to reduce the burden of ovarian cancer.”

A Global Call to Action

The Socioeconomic Burden of Ovarian Cancer in 11 Countries Study shines a spotlight on the pressing need for global prioritization of ovarian cancer. It also highlights the vital role of caregivers and the ripple effects on national productivity and was produced with inputs from the World Health Organization, in line with its Framework for the Meaningful Engagement of People Affected by Noncommunicable Diseases. Raising awareness of ovarian cancer is crucial, particularly in low-and middle-income countries where so many are unaware of the condition and its impact on communities.

Dr. Guy Fones, Director a.i., NCD Department, World Health Organization states, “The data from this groundbreaking study is essential to our understanding of the multifaceted socio-economic impact of ovarian cancer, a disease that has long been under-evidenced in the global health landscape. The World Health Organization is committed to advancing data-backed strategies that prioritize equity and improve access to care and outcomes for all women no matter where they live.”

Addressing the Impact – No Woman Left Behind

The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s Inspiring Voices initiative is a platform dedicated to sharing the powerful stories of those touched by ovarian cancer. Nimkee Gupta, an ovarian cancer survivor born in India, says “Cancer is a full body disease and beyond the patient, it is a family disease. Not everyone dies, but everyone suffers.” Stella Matini, a mother of four from Kenya, says “Many women in my country do not have employment, they are housewives at home…Even for me, before my insurance came in…the treatment was taking almost what I earn in a month.”

Mikis Euripides, Study Lead and Policy Consultant, World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, notes, “The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition believes it is possible to change future outcomes if significant improvements in prevention, diagnosis and access to care are implemented. Reducing the burden of ovarian cancer is critical and prevention is key. Expanded access to genetic testing, prevention measures and affordable care is essential.”

Funding for this study was provided by separate grants from: AstraZeneca, Abbvie (formerly ImmunoGen), Novartis and Novocure.

About the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition
The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, the only global not-for-profit organization focused solely on ovarian cancer, was established in 2016 and comprises over 200 patient advocacy group members in 37 countries. We work globally to ensure that everyone living with, or at risk of, ovarian cancer has the best chance of survival and the best quality of life, no matter where they live. To learn more, visit our website www.worldovariancancercoalition.org and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. 

About JCO Global Oncology 

JCO Global Oncology (JCO GO), an American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal, is an online-only, open-access journal focused on cancer care, research, and care delivery issues unique to countries and settings with limited healthcare resources.

About RTI International

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition.

Media Contacts:

Annabel Deegan, Senior Communications Consultant for the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition media@worldovariancancercoalition.org +44 7810 207571

Helen Shik, Interim Director of Communications, helen@worldovariancancercoalition.org 617-510-4373

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