Toronto, Canada– Marking World Ovarian Cancer Day, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition has launched a Global Expert Advisory Group on Ovarian Cancer, a new international initiative aimed at elevating ovarian cancer as a global health priority. The effort brings together clinicians, policymakers, and patient advocates from 13 countries across six continents to build a coordinated response to the world’s most lethal female cancer.
The new advisory group is tasked with developing a global strategy to improve survival and quality of life for women affected by ovarian cancer, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where the disease often goes undetected and untreated due to limited awareness, diagnostic barriers, and lack of access to care.
“This is a global challenge that demands a global response,” said co-chairs Annwen Jones OBE, former chair and board member of the Coalition, and Associate Professor Tracey Adams, a gynecological oncologist at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. “We aim to set ambitious goals, including a reduction in global ovarian cancer mortality, much like the global breast cancer initiative.”
The group has identified three urgent priorities: building awareness among communities and policymakers, improving diagnostic pathways, and expanding access to services and treatment for hereditary ovarian cancer.
Their work builds on the Coalition’s recent research, including The Socioeconomic Burden of Ovarian Cancer in 11 Countries and the Every Woman Study™: Low- and Middle-Income Edition, which revealed a widespread lack of awareness, limited understanding of genetic risk factors like BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, and the severe economic toll the disease takes on families and healthcare systems alike.
Without major intervention, the Coalition warns that up to eight million women could die from ovarian cancer by 2050.
The newly announced members of the advisory group include global leaders in gynecological oncology, public health, and patient advocacy from countries such as Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Nigeria, Argentina, Egypt, the United States, and Australia. Their collective expertise spans clinical research, healthcare policy, patient engagement, and genetic risk management.
By coordinating this diverse international network, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition aims to ensure that all people affected by ovarian cancer—regardless of where they live—have equitable access to timely diagnosis, personalized treatment, and supportive care.
