Krukenburg tumour is the name given to a particular type of cancer affecting the ovary.

Krukenburg tumours are cancers which may involve one or both ovaries but they do not actually start in the ovaries themselves. They are seedlings from a cancer which started somewhere in the digestive system, most commonly from a cancer in the stomach.

So Krukenburg tumours are actually secondary cancers (also called metastases) from a primary cancer elsewhere. The primary is usually in the stomach but occasionally the pancreas or the large bowel may be the site of the original growth.

Even though Krukenberg tumours are in the ovary, the treatment used, which is usually chemotherapy, will depend on the site of the primary cancer.