01/20/2026
**Epithelial ovarian cancer** is the **most common kind of ovarian cancer**. It starts in the **outer lining of the o***y**.
When doctors look at it under a microscope, they see that:
* The cancer cells **look very abnormal and disorganized** (this is what *anaplasia* means).
* These abnormal cells **grow into deeper layers of the o***y** instead of staying on the surface (this is *invasion into the stroma*).
* The tumor often forms **finger-like or frond-shaped growths** (*papillary formations*).
* The cells have **odd shapes and sizes**, showing they’re cancerous (*cellular atypia*).
* Sometimes there are **tiny round calcium deposits** called *psammoma bodies*.
**In short:** it’s a common ovarian cancer where surface cells become very abnormal, invade deeper tissue, form finger-like growths, and sometimes contain small calcium spots.