New Tests Find Hard-to-Detect Ovarian Cancer Early
Hard-to-detect ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly forms of the disease, due in part because it is so very hard to detect. Quite often it remains undiagnosed until reaching a stage at which it is nearly impossible to treat. A series of new tests, however, is finding these cancers more accurately and while they are still early enough to treat more effectively, according to the English medical journal, ‘Lancet Oncology.’
The tests are proving to be so promising there is even the possibility of offering them as routine screening procedures. One test looks for CA125, a specific compound secreted by ovarian tumors even though other medical conditions, including pregnancy, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and benign ovarian cysts produce CA125, too, but at higher levels.
The other test is a transvaginal ultrasound scan, a technology that has undergone some dramatically effective improvements in recent years. These enhanced technological capabilities make it possible to detect tumors smaller and earlier than ever before.
The British study, begun in 2001, involved 200,000 postmenopausal women divided into three groups. One group got no diagnostic screening at all for ovarian cancer during the course of the study. The second group got ultrasound scans and the third group got both the ultrasound scan and the CA125 blood test. Researchers Ian Jacobs and Usha Menon, of London’s University College, led the study.
In the third group, getting both tests, 34 out of 38 occurrences, or 90%, of ovarian cancer were detected but only 24 out of 32 (75%) were detected in the group getting just the ultrasound scan. Almost half of all ovarian cancers detected were found in either stage I or II of development, when there is still hope of cure. When detected in stage I, patients enjoy a 90% survival rate.
In Great Britain, about 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and at least 4,000 women die from it. In the United States, 21,000 cases were diagnosed in 2008 and more than 15,000 women died from it.
This is excellent news for the world and for women ! We need to establish the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive accuracy of the test in comparison to laparatomy (the gold standard). Cost -effectiveness studies should be undertaken quickly to assess the test utility in the developing world, where the disease is highly prevalent. While vaccine development against Ovarian cancer should be accelerated, early diagnosis and prompt treatment is still our current best hope to reduce this scourge.