Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers for women: in Canada, more women die from ovarian cancer than all the other gynaecological cancers combined. The key problem with ovarian cancer is that it is difficult to detect in its early stages. Although it is 90% curable when detected early, 70% of ovarian cancers are detected in an advanced stage, when the survival rate is only 10-20%.
This week, American researchers reported that a simple blood screen followed up by an ultrasound as indicated by the blood test detected malignant ovarian tumours with minimal false alarms. Although the study is relatively preliminary, it supports early results from a larger study underway in the UK that will show clearer results in the next few years.
Currently, no reliable screening test exists to diagnose ovarian cancer. Symptoms and markers can be vague or elusive, and exploratory surgery is required to confirm a diagnosis. This can lead to either avoiding or delaying diagnosis, or the opposite problem of treating symptoms that aren’t necessarily cancerous with an invasive surgical procedure. The researchers studying the blood test plus ultrasound screening method believe that they are on track to developing a screening process that will find aggressive tumours while avoiding unnecessary false positives and subsequent surgeries.
According to the Ovarian Cancer Canada organization, the risk of developing ovarian cancer increases as women age: 60% of those diagnosed are over the age of 50. To find out more about the symptoms, treatments and prognosis of ovarian cancer, visit Ovarian Cancer Canada.
Read more about this new research on ovarian cancer screening at Medscape Medical News or CBC News.
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