Ovarian Cancer Screening
Symptoms of ovarian cancer are vague and often confused with digestive or menstrual complaints. If you notice any of these symptoms that persist or worsen for 2-3 weeks, see your doctor and ask “could it be my ovaries - Bright Pink
image by: Bright Pink
HWN Recommends
New blood screening may detect ovarian cancer two years before other methods
Ovarian cancer has a high mortality risk because it is so often diagnosed at a very late stage. In a new study, our team has shown that detection rates can be significantly improved by screening for a specific set of proteins in the bloodstream. This could mean detection of ovarian cancer up to two years before current screenings allow.
Cancer tests walk a harsh line between missing cancer and misdiagnosing healthy people. If you make your test too strict, you will fail to detect traces of real cancers that are present. If it is too lenient you will falsely detect cancer where it doesn’t exist.
While it might seem obvious we should tip the scales in favour of catching every…
Resources
USPSTF
The USPSTF recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women. This recommendation applies to asymptomatic women who are not known to have a high-risk hereditary cancer syndrome.
Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer May Become Possible
Past efforts to find a screening method have focused on two tests: ultrasound examinations of the ovaries, and a blood test to measure CA125, a “tumor marker” sometimes linked to early-stage disease. But in previous studies, those tests did not work: They did not lower the death rate and they produced too many false-positive results that led healthy women to have unnecessary surgery. The Lancet study also used CA125, but in a different way.
FDA Warns Against Use of Ovarian Cancer Screening Tests
On Sept. 7, 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned women and their doctors not to use widely marketed ovarian cancer screening tests because results of the tests are often inaccurate. The agency is especially concerned that use of these tests can lead some women who may have ovarian cancer to delay effective treatment and spur others who do not have cancer to undergo unnecessary diagnostic procedures and surgery.
Gene Wilder’s Other Legacy: His Fight Against Ovarian Cancer
She could be alive today if I knew then what I know now. Gilda might have been caught at a less-advanced stage if two things had been done: if she had been given a CA 125 blood test as soon as she described her symptoms to the doctors instead of 10 months later, and if the doctors had known the significance of asking her about her family’s history of ovarian cancer. But they didn’t. So Gilda went through the tortures of the damned and at the end, I felt robbed.
Ovarian Cancer Doesn’t Begin in the Ovaries, Researchers Say
Ovarian cancer begins with lesions in the fallopian tubes, which if treated early could prevent the cancer from spreading, researchers say.
Report: Women Everywhere Don't Know Enough About Ovarian Cancer
A new study of women with ovarian cancer shows that ignorance about the condition is common among patients in all 44 countries surveyed. And that ignorance has a cost. The disease is more treatable, even potentially curable, in its early stages. The women's answers also suggested their doctors were ignorant. Many of them reported that diagnosis took a long time and that they weren't referred to proper specialists.
Screening healthy women for ovarian cancer shows first success
The screening test — for a blood protein linked to ovarian cancer — was far from perfect, failing to detect a large fraction of ovarian cancers and flagging as possible cancers some physiological changes that were benign, as scores of women found out after they had their ovaries surgically removed. Even more women whose ovarian cancer was detected early died anyway. But the finding that screening can avert one in five deaths from ovarian cancer, nevertheless, offered a long-sought ray of hope for a disease that kills some 60 percent of its victims within five years of diagnosis.
To Make Breast and Ovarian Cancer Tests More Affordable, Color Genomics Raises $15 Million
Ever heard of BRCA1 and BRCA2? You should.
New blood screening may detect ovarian cancer two years before other methods
Ovarian cancer has a high mortality risk because it is so often diagnosed at a very late stage. In a new study, our team has shown that detection rates can be significantly improved by screening for a specific set of proteins in the bloodstream. This could mean detection of ovarian cancer up to two years before current screenings allow.
Aspira
At ASPIRA Women's Health we strive to globally transform women's health, starting with ovarian cancer.
Bright Pink
Bright Pink helps to save lives from breast and ovarian cancer by empowering women to know their risk and manage their health proactively.
Color Genomics
Color analyzes 30 genes—including BRCA1 and BRCA2—to help women and men understand their risk for the most common hereditary cancers, including breast, ovarian, colon, and pancreatic cancer. Complimentary genetic counseling is included.
Introducing Stitches!
Your Path to Meaningful Connections in the World of Health and Medicine
Connect, Collaborate, and Engage!
Coming Soon - Stitches, the innovative chat app from the creators of HWN. Join meaningful conversations on health and medical topics. Share text, images, and videos seamlessly. Connect directly within HWN's topic pages and articles.
