Although there are no guaranteed known factors that cause ovarian cancer, there are some possible reasons.  Three possible factors are hormonal, inherited, and environmental.  
    Hormonal Factors: Women are more vulnerable to ovarian cancer if they have not given birth.  Those women that do give birth are still not in the clear but  are at a lesser risk, women can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer even more if they breast feed for a longer period of time.  Women that take oral contraceptives are also at lower risks of gettin ovarian cancer, however, women that use hormone replacement as an estrogen only form are at greater risk of getting cancer.

Inherited Factors:  Family history is important in determining your risk of ovarian cancer.  Family history accounts for 4-5% of ovarian cancer cases.  A mutation on the BRCA gene is suspected to be one of the signs of ovarian cancer.  Breast cancer and ovarian cancer put women with BRCA mutation at greater risk.  Jewish people are also at a higher risk to have the BRCA mutations which makes them even more susceptable.  A form of CYP1A1 gene also increases the risk of ovarian cancer.

Environmental Factors:  There are many different solvents, dyes, dusts, herbicides, and vitamins under investigation in relation to ovarian cancer.  It is believed that women that work in certain jobs are at higher risk which makes some scientist believe that certain elements should be tested.

The coutries that one lives in may have an effect on ovarian cancer.  Ovarian cancer is more common in industrialized countries, with the exception of Japan.