Norwegian Gynecological Cancer Registry

Summary from the annual report 2025

Ovarian cancer

The incidence of ovarian cancer (including cancer of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum) in Norway has decreased in recent years. The decline is most pronounced among women aged 50–69, but is also seen among women aged 30–49. Among women older than 70 years, the incidence has remained stable.Themedian age at diagnosis is 69 years. Mortality from ovarian cancer has declined across all age groups over the past 40 years. 

Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings during diagnostic work-up were conducted for 80,0 % of patients, which represents low target attainment (Figure 2.8). The proportionwasespecially lowintheSouth-Easternhealthregion, particularly for patients with early-stage disease.

In 2025, 59,0 % of patients with advanced ovarian cancer underwent surgery nationally. This is below the target of at least 70 %. Surgical rates were highest in the Central health region and lowest in the Northern and South-Eastern regions. There is also variation within regions depending on where patients lived. 

Most surgeries (88,0 %) were performed at hospitals with specialized expertise in gynecological oncology, meeting the national quality target. Centralization of care is recommended to maintain high quality and improve cost efficiency.

The absence of residual tumor after surgery is an important indicator of surgical quality. In 2025, 87,8 % of patients with advanced disease had no residual tumor after surgery, clearly exceeding the quality target. This suggests good surgical outcomes, but may also reflect strict selection of patients for surgery. 

Starting chemotherapy within 28 days after surgery is a new quality indicator. In 2025, fewer than half of patients (48,8 %) met this target, indicating low performance. There were differences between regions in the use of chemotherapyfor early-stage disease, while treatment patterns were more similar for advanced stages. Nationally,11,9 % of patients received chemotherapy in the last four weeks of life, with variation across hospitals. 

Postoperative mortality within 30 days was low (0,3 %) and within the national target. One-year postoperative mortality was 6,1 %, and one-year relative survival after diagnosis was 81,9 %. Survival outcomes varied between regions. Five-year relative survival has increased substantially over the past decades, from about 30 % in 1980 to 48,0 % i 2025, although a slight decline has been observed in the most recent years

Cervical cancer

Theincidence of cervical cancer in Norway declined steadily from 1970 until the early 2000s. From the mid‐2000s, incidence increased in several age groups up to around 2020. In recent years, a decline has again been observed across all age groups. The median age at diagnosis in 2025 was 52 years. 

An increasing proportion of women are diagnosed with cervical cancer through participation in screening (41,8 %), although the largest share of patients are still diagnosed after seeking medical care due to symptoms (48,9 %).

Use of pelvic MRI during diagnostic work-up is a quality indicator, and 92,9 % of patients underwent pelvic MRI. This corresponds to moderate target attainment at the national level. 

Over the past three years, 52,9 % of patients were treated surgically, either by conization or hysterectomy, while 43,3 % received radiotherapy. Combined treatment with surgery and radiotherapy should generally be avoided. A new quality indicator assesses the proportion of hysterectomized patients who did not receive postoperative radiotherapy. In 2025, 84,2 % met this criterion, approaching moderate target attainment.

The proportion of patients completing radiotherapy within 50 days is a quality indicator and showed high target attainment nationally, with 97,7 % of patients meeting this goal in 2025. Another new indicator is the proportion of patients receiving curative radiotherapy who also received concurrent chemotherapy. In 2025, 86,8 % of patients received concurrent chemotherapy, corresponding to moderate target attainment.

Five‐year relative survival for cervical cancer has increased steadily over the past 45 years, from 70,3 % in 1980 to 83,9 %in 2025.This exceeds the national target for high goal attainment, which is set at a minimumof 82 %

Endometrial cancer

The incidence of endometrial cancer in Norway has shown a slight increase from 1970 to the present. The increase is most pronounced among women aged 70 years and older. The median age at diagnosis in 2025 was 68 years).

In 2025, 51,5 % of patients with endometrial cancer were discussed in a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. There was considerable variation between health regions, with the lowest proportion observed in South‐Eastern health region.

Overall, 85,4 % of patients with endometrial cancer underwent surgery in 2025. The proportion of patients treated with minimally invasive surgery is a new quality indicator, and moderate target attainment was achieved nationally, with 83,1 % of surgeries performed using a minimally invasive approach. The Central health region had a lower proportion compared with the rest of the country. Lymph node resection was performed in 54,8 % of patients undergoing surgery. 

The median time from surgery to the start of chemotherapy was 36 days, which is longer than the recommended time frame of 28 days. There was also notable variation between health regions in time to initiation of chemotherapy. 

Mortality from endometrial cancer has remained relatively stable since 1970. Postoperative mortality is low: nationally, only 0,1 % of patients died within 30 days after surgery during the period 2023–2025. Five‐year relative survival has increased substantially, from 71,4 % i 1980 til 87,2 % in 2025. In 2025, five‐year relative survival was introduced as a new quality indicator for endometrial cancer. High target attainment was achieved nationally, with little variation in survival between health regions.