Screening high-risk women may reduce risk of advanced ovarian cancer diagnosis

The results of the UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study, which is led by the UCL, show that screening women at high risk of ovarian cancer every four months may reduce the risk of them being diagnosed with advanced cancer.

It remains uncertain whether detecting ovarian cancer by screening increases the chances of a woman surviving the disease.

The current medical advice for women at high risk is to have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed after having completed their families. Many women though delay or decide against having the surgery.

The study results, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate that four monthly screening with the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (used to look for rising levels of a blood protein, CA 125, which can be elevated in ovarian cancer)  may be an option for these women until they decide to undergo surgery.

Over 4,000 women with a 1 in 10 or greater risk of developing ovarian cancer due to family history or a faulty gene, took part in the study after declining surgery.

After the three years of screening and in the year after their last test, nineteen women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer although none had any symptoms. The screening was estimated to be able to pick up 9 out of every 10 cancers.

A further 18 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the five-year period that followed.

“The screening appears to be very effective at detecting ovarian cancer before it causes symptoms. The proportion of women who had all their tumours removed was very high, which is important in terms of predicting a better outcome”, according to Dr Adam Rosenthal, Clinical Lead on the trial.

Read more: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0217/280217-screening-may-reduce-ovarian-cancer-risk

http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.2016.69.9330

Image credit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0217/280217-screening-may-reduce-ovarian-cancer-risk

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