How To Test For Ovarian Cancer?
Ovarian cancer is often difficult to detect because the symptoms, such as a swollen and painful stomach, can also be attributed to other, common illnesses.
Yet it is the most aggressive gynecological cancer, and only 40 percent of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis. It is of great importance to detect cancer at an early stage: if that is the case, 90 percent of patients still alive after five years, the cancer is only discovered at a later stage, then that percentage drops to 22 percent.
Another important factor for the survival probability is the fact that surgery is performed by a specialist. Now women are often operated by a non-specialist surgeon because cancer only comes to light during an operation.
Until now, there was no test for detecting ovarian cancer, so patients had to be confident that they consulted a doctor in time and received the correct diagnosis. Moreover, current methods of detection, including an ultrasound scan, only make a distinction between good and malignant tumors, but they can not determine which kind of malignant tumor it is.
ADNEX
How to test for ovarian cancer? The new test, called ADNEX, was developed by Professor Ben Van Calster of KU Leuven, in collaboration with the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis and Imperial College London. The researchers were based on the development of the test on data from 3,500 patients with an ovarian tumor collected in ten European countries between 1999 and 2007. The test was then tested on 2,400 patients between 2009 and 2012.
How is ovarian cancer found? The ADNEX test uses a combination of patient data, results of a blood test with a tumor marker, and ultrasound scans. Not only can the distinction be made between good and malignant tumors, but it also allows the malignant swellings to be divided into four different types: borderline malignant, cancer at an early stage, advanced cancer and secondary metastasis, a metastasis of another cancer to the ovaries.
This correct identification of the type of tumor is of great importance for the successful treatment and survival of the patient. Until now that was difficult, which means that many women did not end up with the right specialist. On the other hand, a number of women now underwent a heavier operation than strictly necessary, because a benign tumor often must not be treated, and especially in young women, for example, the removal of an ovary is very sensitive.
Breakthrough
The researchers from Leuven, therefore, call the test a real breakthrough for a better diagnosis and treatment of ovarian tumors. The team's findings have been published in the British Medical Journal.
The British institution, Ovarian Cancer Action said the test could be useful. "Anything that makes a diagnosis of ovarian cancer easier, earlier and faster, such as this blood test with a tumor marker, everything that gives women a tailored treatment faster, is very necessary," said the president Katherine Taylor to the BBC website. "Awareness of this disease in women and GPs is the key," she added. "Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological disease in the UK, with more than 7,000 diagnoses every year."
*Image source : Today Show
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