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What Audrey Hepburn's Story Can Help Us Understand About a Rare Appendiceal Cancer
The beloved actress and humanitarian died of a rare abdominal cancer in 1993. Here is what a rare cancer means, explained calmly and simply.
A plain-language summary based on public reporting and trusted sources, linked below.
Please note: this page is educational only — it is not medical advice, and it does not speculate about anyone’s health beyond reliable public reporting. For questions about your own health, talk with your healthcare team.
What the wire reports actually said
Audrey Hepburn came back from a UNICEF mission to Somalia in late 1992 with stomach trouble. At first, UPI reported, it was thought to be a bug from the trip. She went into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Tests led to surgery.
On 3 November 1992, UPI quoted a hospital spokesman. The tumor was cancerous. He called it low grade. Doctors believed they had taken out all of it from her colon. She died at her home in Switzerland on 20 January 1993, aged 63.
Two things are worth saying plainly. The wire reports at the time described colon cancer, not appendiceal cancer. The appendiceal claim that circulates online comes from later accounts. We could not confirm it against a reputable outlet. Even so, her case has a shape that fits a family of rare tumors. A quiet growth turns up during surgery for something else. That is why her name gets attached to them.
We report only what was published at the time and do not speculate about her private care.
The organ nobody can explain
The appendix is a small pouch at the start of the large intestine. NCI is unusually direct about it: we do not know what it does, though it may help the immune system.
Two unrelated cancers grow there, and they share little beyond an address.
Neuroendocrine tumors of the appendix are also called carcinoid tumors. They start in enterochromaffin cells. Those cells make chemicals that control digestion and gut movement. NCI says these are the most common type.
Epithelial appendiceal cancer, or adenocarcinoma, starts in the cells lining the appendix. Those cells make mucin, a jelly-like substance that protects the gut lining. Most of these tumors cause mucin to build up, and that pressure can make the appendix rupture.
Pseudomyxoma peritonei
When mucin from a ruptured appendix spills into the abdomen and keeps accumulating there, the result is called pseudomyxoma peritonei, shortened to PMP.
NCI's dictionary defines it as a build-up of mucus in the peritoneal cavity. That is the space lined by the membrane around the abdominal organs. The mucus can come from the appendix, from burst ovarian cysts, or from other tissue. Mucus-making cells settle on that lining and keep producing.
Mucinous appendiceal tumors are graded by how the cells look under a microscope: low grade, written LAMN, or high grade, written HAMN. The grade matters more than almost anything else here.
How rare is rare
NCI says appendiceal cancer has been thought to affect one or two people per million each year in the United States. Recent studies suggest it is becoming more common. It turns up most often between ages 50 and 55. It can happen at any age.
Many people have no symptoms early on. When a tumor grows, NCI lists pain, bloating or a growing abdomen, a mass in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting, and feeling full soon after starting to eat.
A large share of diagnoses happen by accident. The appendix comes out for what everyone assumed was appendicitis. Others surface on a scan done for something else. Our full guide to appendiceal cancer goes through the tumor types in detail.
Diagnosis and treatment
NCI describes CT and MRI scans to look at the appendix. A biopsy names the tumor type. NCI notes that biopsies of the appendix are very hard to do. Doctors may also biopsy the peritoneum to see if disease has spread. Blood protein levels can help with staging. Our overview of how cancer is diagnosed covers the general sequence.
Treatment usually starts with surgery. It removes the appendix and any affected tissue. That can include parts of the intestine, colon and peritoneum. When cancer has spread within the abdomen, chemotherapy is used. Sometimes it is given as HIPEC, or hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Heated chemotherapy is washed through the abdomen during the operation itself.
NCI is honest about outlook. There are so few patients that survival rates may not be very accurate. It gives a 5-year survival rate of 67% to 97% for neuroendocrine tumors of the appendix and other low-grade tumors. Those are group ranges, not a forecast for any individual.
When to get checked
There is no screening test for appendiceal cancer, so symptoms are the only signal. Ask a doctor about:
- Abdominal pain that persists for more than two weeks
- A waistline that grows without weight gain elsewhere
- Feeling full after a few mouthfuls, repeatedly
- Nausea or vomiting with no clear cause
- Any lump you can feel in the abdomen
Had an appendix out, then heard the pathology showed a tumor? Ask for the exact tumor name and the size in millimeters. Those two facts drive everything that follows.
What this does not mean
- We could not verify the appendiceal attribution from a reputable outlet. What was reported in 1992 and 1993 was a low-grade malignant tumor described as colon cancer.
- Hepburn was treated in 1992. Surgery and pathology grading were not what they are now.
- Rare does not mean untreatable. It means the pathology is harder to name, and few centers see many cases.
- The 67% to 97% range comes from small numbers and covers only low-grade tumors. It does not describe every appendiceal cancer, and it does not describe any one person.
Sources
- UPI Archives, Tumor removed from Audrey Hepburn was cancerous (3 November 1992) — https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/11/03/Tumor-removed-from-Audrey-Hepburn-was-cancerous/1330720766800/
- UPI Archives, Actress Audrey Hepburn dead at 63 (20 January 1993) — https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/01/20/Actress-Audrey-Hepburn-dead-at-63/1201727506000/
- NCI, Appendiceal Cancer — https://www.cancer.gov/pediatric-adult-rare-tumor/rare-tumors/rare-digestive-system-tumors/appendiceal-cancer
- NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms (glossary API), pseudomyxoma peritonei — https://webapis.cancer.gov/glossary/v1/Terms/Cancer.gov/Patient/en/pseudomyxoma-peritonei
- NCI, What Is Cancer? — https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer
How this article was prepared
An AI-assisted editorial system helped prepare this page. No named medical reviewer has reviewed it unless one is listed.
The National Cancer Information Foundation publishes Cancer Explained. This page is for learning. It is not medical advice and does not suggest a test or treatment.
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Put the story in context
Prevention, possible warning signs, screening, and diagnosis
This story relates to Rare cancer (appendiceal). The information below is general: it does not reveal anything else about a public person’s health, and not every point applies to every cancer. Personal advice depends on age, symptoms, family history, exposures, and medical history.
Prevention and risk reduction
Not every cancer can be prevented. Avoiding tobacco, protecting skin from ultraviolet radiation, limiting alcohol, staying active, and receiving recommended HPV or hepatitis B vaccination can lower the risk of certain cancers. A risk factor is not a prediction or a cause in one individual.
Symptoms and possible early signs
Possible signs vary and are often caused by conditions other than cancer. Changes worth discussing include a new lump, unexplained bleeding or weight loss, a persistent cough, lasting bowel or bladder changes, a changing skin spot, or symptoms that persist or worsen. Some early cancers cause no symptoms.
Screening and early detection
Screening looks for certain cancers before symptoms begin. Recommended tests exist only for some cancers and depend on age and risk. Screening can have benefits and harms; it is not the same as evaluating a new symptom, and there is no single routine scan or blood test that reliably screens for every cancer.
How cancer is diagnosed
Diagnosis may involve a history and exam, imaging, laboratory tests, and often a biopsy. Pathology can identify the cancer type and may test biomarkers that guide treatment. Symptoms, screening results, tumor markers, or online stories alone cannot confirm cancer.
Learn about this story’s cancer topic
A public story may encourage questions, but it should not be used to estimate your risk or choose testing. Contact a healthcare professional about a persistent or concerning change. Seek urgent care for severe or rapidly worsening symptoms.