If ovarian cancer spreads

Cancer cells can spread from the ovary to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.

Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your healthcare team plan your treatment and future care. If ovarian cancer spreads, it can spread to the following:

• fallopian tube
• other ovary
• uterus
• cervix
• vagina
• omentum (a fold in the peritoneum that covers and supports organs and blood vessels in the abdomen)
• parietal peritoneum (the membrane that lines the walls of the abdomen and pelvis) or visceral peritoneum (the membrane that covers and supports most of the organs in the abdomen)
• diaphragm (the thin muscle below the lungs and heart that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen)
• lymph nodes in the pelvis and retroperitoneum
• bladder
• large intestine
• rectum
• small intestine
• liver
• lungs