Risk Factors
The main risk factor for PPC is age. In some families ovarian and breast cancers are common. Many of these families have a mutated gene in one of the BRCA genes. A mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 leads to a dramatic rise in the risk of both ovarian cancer and PPC. It also increases the risk of fallopian tube cancer and some types of uterine cancer. Only one out of every 10 ovarian and primary peritoneal cancers, though, has a genetic link.
