Good News for Women: Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer has been nicknamed the “Silent Killer” with good reason. Vague symptoms, like bloating or nausea often lead to late detection. By the time the majority of women with ovarian cancer realize they have it the cancer is already well advanced and only half of these women survive for 5 years after treatment. To date there has not been a way to find ovarian cancer early enough to save thousands of lives each year. 22,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and of the 25% of women whose cancer is detected early, over 90% survive more than 5 years.

Researchers have been investigating how to detect ovarian cancer early for a long time, and it is possible that they have found a solution. The protein in the blood that indicates an ovarian tumor or cancer is CA125. The blood test for this tumor marker on its own produces vague results and has been used in the past only for women who have already been diagnosed with ovarian cancer to monitor the presence of cancer after treatment. An ultrasound used independently produces false positives which then lead to unnecessary surgeries. Dr. Karen Lu at MD Anderson Cancer Center who authored the study used these existing tests in a combination name the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA) and may have found a method of early detection.

The ROCA was used during the study of 3,252 women between the ages of 50 and 74 with no known or strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer. The women all had the CA125 blood test done as a baseline and the tests were repeated over eight years to monitor changes in the CA125 protein levels. The women were then grouped into low, intermediate or high probability of cancer groups based on their results. If a woman’s CA125 levels increased over time they were placed in the high probability group. The 85 women in the high probability group then underwent transvaginal sonography (TVS) to look for the presence of a tumor. 8 women had surgery and 5 were found to have ovarian cancer. Two women had benign tumors and one was a false positive. All of the cancer found was in the early stage. Two women with borderline cancer were not diagnosed with this study.

The results of the study are very promising and provide hope for women that this “Silent Killer” can be caught in time. Another larger study of 200,000 women is underway in Great Britain and results of that study may be available by 2013 to confirm Dr. Lu’s findings. Although this new research should not prompt every woman to rush out and get a CA125 cancer test, women who are at high risk may want to discuss beginning a monitoring program with their doctor. Women at average risk who are over 50 or women who have never had children might also consider speaking to their doctor about the cancer test and getting a baseline number for later comparison. Another test that could be helpful in measuring the probability of the presence of a tumor is the OVA1 test. The OVA1 test is qualitative serum test that determines low or high probability of a malignancy. Many people know family or friends who have suffered through ovarian cancer when it was too late. The ROCA may be the answer to preventing many thousands more women from losing out to this disease.

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