(Image source: Sky News)
BY CHARESSE JAMES
A new blood test could catch ovarian cancer in its earliest, and most treatable, stage
— according to a new study.
The new method was devised by researcher Karen Lu at the University of Texas' MD Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston.
She examined the potential of a two-stage ovarian cancer screening — the blood test,
looking for a change the tumor-marking blood protein, CA125, followed by a transvaginal
ultrasound.
(Via Science World Report)
HealthDay reports that unlike breast, cervical or colon cancer, there is no reliable screen
test to detect the disease.
They call it "a silent killer ... By the time a woman knows she has it, the cancer is often
advanced and the outlook grim."
Her team monitored more than 4,000 postmenopausal women over an 11-year period, with all subjects
receiving an annual CA125 blood test.
They noticed that on an average nearly 5.8 percent of women were detected with intermediate
risk each year.
(Via Sky News)
Based on the ultrasound exams, 10 women underwent surgery.
Four had invasive ovarian cancer, two had malignant ovarian tumors, one suffered endometrial
cancer and three had benign ovarian tumors.
(Via Medical News Today)
And while the results are being considered groundbreaking, Lu doesn't think they're practice-changing
just yet, writing in a statement:
"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."
(Via The Guardian)
The trial results are being published in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society,
and Lu says she believes the finding will raise hopes that were dashed by a similar,
earlier study that deemed the screening unsuccessful.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year about 20,000 U.S.
women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
It is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among
U.S. women.
And the National Cancer Institute estimates there will be more than 22,000 new cases of
ovarian cancer in the U.S. this year, resulting in more than 14,000 deaths.
It's unknown whether the findings could be applied to younger women, but the method
is undergoing additional testing in the U.K.
That study will involve 300,000 women, and is due to report in 2015.