The short answer
Ovarian cancer risk is higher for those with a family history, inherited BRCA gene changes or Lynch syndrome, older age, and certain reproductive factors. Genetic counseling can help people with a strong family history understand their risk.
A family history of ovarian or breast cancer raises risk.
Inherited gene changes, especially BRCA1 and BRCA2, strongly raise risk.
Lynch syndrome also raises ovarian cancer risk.
Risk increases with age, mostly after menopause.
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The full explanation.
The simple version
A risk factor is anything that raises the chance of a disease. It does not mean you will get that disease. For ovarian cancer, family history and inherited gene changes are among the strongest known risk factors. Most people who develop ovarian cancer have no known inherited gene change at all.
Family history and inherited genes
Having a mother, sister, or daughter with ovarian cancer raises your own risk. The risk rises further with inherited changes in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Women with a harmful BRCA1 change have roughly a 39% to 58% chance of ovarian cancer in their lifetime. Women with a harmful BRCA2 change have roughly a 13% to 29% chance. Compare that to about 1.1% for women in the general population. These are large differences. But they are not certainties. Many women with these gene changes never develop ovarian cancer.
Inherited BRCA changes raise lifetime ovarian cancer risk far above the general population average.
Lynch syndrome and other inherited conditions
Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition best known for raising colon cancer risk. It also raises ovarian cancer risk. A few rarer inherited syndromes do too. Does ovarian, breast, or colon cancer run in your family? Especially at a young age, or across several relatives? That pattern is worth discussing with a doctor.
Hormonal and reproductive factors
Risk increases with age, mostly after menopause. Hormone replacement therapy after menopause raises risk slightly, even with short-term use. Excess body weight is linked to somewhat higher risk. Endometriosis is also linked to higher risk. This is a condition where uterine-like tissue grows outside the uterus. Being tall is linked to a very small increase in risk as well.
What is linked to lower risk
Some factors are linked to lower ovarian cancer risk. Birth control pills lower risk substantially. This protective effect can last up to 30 years after stopping. Pregnancy and childbirth lower risk too. Each added pregnancy brings more protection. Breastfeeding is linked to lower risk, especially for eight to ten months or longer. Tubal ligation and removal of the fallopian tubes both lower risk as well.
Genetic counseling
People with a strong family history of ovarian or breast cancer may benefit from genetic counseling. So can people with a known gene change in the family. A genetic counselor reviews your family history. They help you decide whether testing makes sense. They explain what a positive or negative result would mean. For those who carry a high-risk gene change, options can include closer monitoring. Surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes is another option, and it can lower risk substantially.
What to ask your team
Ask whether your family history raises your risk. Ask whether genetic counseling or testing makes sense for you. Ask what your options would be if you carry a BRCA change or another inherited risk. Ask what symptoms you should watch for in the meantime.
There is no routine screening test
Unlike cervical or breast cancer, there is no routine ovarian cancer screening test proven to lower deaths in women at average risk. Blood tests and ultrasound have been studied for screening, but they have not been shown to catch ovarian cancer early enough, or reliably enough, to recommend for everyone. This makes knowing your personal risk factors, and reporting new or persistent symptoms, especially important.
Sources
Words to know
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Common questions
What raises ovarian cancer risk?
Key factors include a family history of ovarian or breast cancer, inherited gene changes (especially BRCA1 and BRCA2), Lynch syndrome, older age, and some reproductive and hormonal factors.
How much do BRCA genes matter?
Inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 changes strongly raise the risk of ovarian and breast cancer. People with these changes may consider extra screening or risk-reducing steps.
Should I consider genetic counseling?
People with a strong family history of ovarian or breast cancer, or a known gene change in the family, may benefit from genetic counseling to understand their risk and options.
Can anything lower risk?
Some factors, such as certain reproductive history and use of some birth control, are linked to lower risk. Discuss your personal risk and options with your doctor.
Questions to ask your doctor
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Last updated: 2026-08-05Next planned review: 2027-07-07
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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