A new test for ovarian cancer is claimed to be more accurate than standard tests. According to a new study, this blood test could detect changing levels of protein in the blood and twice as many ovarian cancers than conventional methods.
This method utilizes blood tests that can detect twice as many cases of ovarian cancer than older methods and this may lead to early diagnosis among women, researchers from the University College London said.
WebMD reports that the method uses ana algorithm in order to interpret the changing levels of a protein called 'CA125' which is a predictor of cancer in the blood. According to Usha Menon, MD, professor of gynecologic oncology at University College London and lead researcher, the formula looks into the woman's age, over-all rate of ovarian cancer for that age and the CA125 profile of the woman over time.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that each year, around 20,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Subsequently, it is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death, after lung and bronchus, breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. However, if diagnosed early, treatment are deemed effective.
According to ITV News, the study was conducted over 14 years which is named as the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) led by University College London (UCL). They enrolled 202,638 post-menopausal women aged 50 and over who were randomnly selected various screening methods.
Professor Usha Menon added, "There is currently no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, as research to date has been unable to provide enough evidence that any one method would improve early detection of tumours. These results are therefore very encouraging."
This is a promising discovery because according to Dr. James Brenton, ovarian cancer expert at Cancer Research UK, "A blood test to find women at risk of ovarian cancer is an exciting prospect, but this work still needs to be tested in women to see if it can save lives. By tracking how the levels of the CA125 protein change over time we might have an early signal to detect tumours. Ovarian cancer is particularly hard to spot at an early stage so it's vital that we find ways to diagnose the cancer sooner."
