New Screening Method to Detect Ovarian Cancer at Early Stages

A new screening method for ovarian cancer, documented in the online journal Cancer, is extremely specific in detecting the disease at an early stage before it becomes fatal.

The new method devised by researcher Karen Lu at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, could potentially save the lives of thousands of women each year in the United States.

Compared to other cancers of the female reproductive system, ovarian cancers cause more deaths. Treatment is very effective if the cancer is detected in the early stages. Nearly 90 percent of the women who suffer from ovarian cancer are 40 years or more. Each year about 20,000 U.S. women suffer from ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women, source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To proceed with the study, the researchers examined the potential of a two-stage ovarian cancer screening strategy that includes a change in CA125, a blood protein. This is also referred to as a tumor marker.

They studied 4051 post menopausal women over an 11-year period. All the subjects underwent an annual CA125 blood test. The women were further divided into three different groups based on the 'Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm'. The low risk group was where the women received a CA125 test yearly. The intermediate risk group was where the women received a repeat CA125 blood test in three months and the high risk group received a transvaginal ultrasound and was further referred to a gynecologic oncologist.

They noticed that on an average nearly 5.8 percent of women were detected with intermediate risk each year. And 0.9 percent was referred for transvaginal ultrasound and review by a gynecologic oncologist.

Based on the ultrasound exams, ten women underwent surgery in which four had invasive ovarian cancer, two had malignant ovarian tumors one suffered endometrial cancer and three had benign ovarian tumors.

 "The results from our study are not practice-changing at this time; however, our findings suggest that using a longitudinal (or change over time) screening strategy may be beneficial in post-menopausal women with an average risk of developing ovarian cancer," Karen Lu said in a news release. "We are currently waiting for the results of a larger, randomized study currently being conducted in the United Kingdom that uses the same Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm in a similar population of women. If the results of this study are also positive, then this will result in a change in practice."