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Types of Cancer > Gynecologic Cancers > Fallopian Tube Cancer > Overview
Fallopian Tube Cancer: The Basics
Neha Vapiwala, MD and Christine Hill-Kayser, MD
Affiliation:
The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Modified: February 25, 2008
What are the fallopian tube(s)?
The fallopian tubes are a pair of skinny ducts that transport a woman's eggs (ova) from her ovaries (where they are housed) to her uterus (aka "womb") where they are either fertilized by male sperm or discarded during menstruation. Typically, an egg is released from one of the ovaries into the adjacent fallopian tube once each month during ovulation, which occurs in reproductive-age women. The tube helps to move the egg along its journey to the uterus with small hair-like projections called cilia that line the tube's insides.
The tubes are named after a famous Italian physician named Gabriele Fallopio (1523–1562), who first described them.
What is cancer of the fallopian tube(s)?
Cancer of the fallopian tubes is an abnormal growth of malignant cells (neoplasm, tumor) in one or both of a woman's fallopian tubes.
What are the different types of fallopian tube cancer?
The vast majority (>95%) of fallopian tube cancers are papillary serous adenocarcinomas. These cancers grow from cells that line the fallopian tubes that have become abnormal. When the cells begin to divide abnormally and gain the ability to invade other organs or spread to other parts of the body, tumors may form. Very occasionally, tumors can form from smooth muscle in the fallopian tubes, in which case they are called sarcomas (leiomyosarcomas), or from other cells that line the fallopian tubes, in which case they are called transitional cell carcinomas.