If one woman in your family—such as a mother, a sister, or a daughter—has had ovarian cancer, your risk of getting it is a littler higher than for women who don't have a family history of the disease. About 5 out of 100 women with one relative who has had ovarian cancer will get this cancer sometime during their lives.

[Chart based on National Cancer Institute (2013). Ovarian Cancer Prevention PDQ—Health Professional Version. http://nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/ovarian/healthprofessional.]

If two or more women in your family have had ovarian cancer, your risk of getting it goes up. About 7 out of 100 women with two or more relatives who have had ovarian cancer will get this cancer sometime during their lives.

[Chart based on National Cancer Institute (2013). Ovarian Cancer Prevention PDQ—Health Professional Version. http://nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/ovarian/healthprofessional.]

Some women have BRCA1 gene changes. Their risk of getting ovarian cancer is much higher than average. For these women, about 39 out of 100 women will get ovarian cancer by age 70.

[Chart based on National Cancer Institute (2016). BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer risk and genetic testing. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet. Accessed April 6, 2016.]

Some women have BRCA2 gene changes. Their risk of getting ovarian cancer is also higher than average. For these women, about 11 to 17 out of 100 women will get ovarian cancer by age 70.

[Chart based on National Cancer Institute (2016). BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer risk and genetic testing. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet. Accessed April 6, 2016.]