New Test May Double Detection Of Ovarian Cancer

A new screening method has been developed that can detect ovarian cancer in twice as many women as conventional techniques.

During research, the new method correctly diagnosed 86% of women with a form of the disease called invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (iEOC).

It is the most common type of cancer with about 9 out of 10 of tumours of the ovary diagnosed as being EOC, according to Cancer Research UK.

Known as the silent killer, ovarian cancer is responsible for the deaths of 4,500 women a year.

Experts say it can be one of the most difficult cancers to treat because diagnosis often comes too late - either because a woman or her GP does not recognise symptoms.

Some women with a family history, including Angelina Jolie, elect to have their ovaries or fallopian tubes removed to prevent the disease developing.

The new technique relies on a statistical calculation to interpret variations in the level of a protein in the patient's blood.

Changes in the level of the protein, called CA125, have been linked to ovarian cancer.

More than 46,000 trial participants were involved in the research led by University College London.

Their blood was tested once a year for CA125 levels and a computer programme used to predict the risk of ovarian cancer based on factors including age, the original level of the protein, and how that level changed over time.

Professor Ian Jacobs, who helped develop the statistical technique and conceived the trial, said: "What's normal for one woman may not be so for another. It is the change in levels of this protein that's important.

"My hope is that ... this approach will prove capable of detecting ovarian cancer early enough to save lives."

The research was part of a wider 14-year research project called the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS).

UKCTOCS recruited 202,638 post-menopausal women aged 50 and over who were randomly assigned different screening strategies.

Dr James Brenton, ovarian cancer expert at Cancer Research UK, said: "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.

"Ovarian cancer is particularly hard to spot at an early stage so it's vital that we find ways to diagnose the cancer sooner."

Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of the women's cancer charity The Eve Appeal, said: "These latest results are exciting and point towards the strides that we're making in more accurately predicting individual risk of developing cancer."

The researchers say it will not be until later this year that they will be able to find out whether lives have been saved by the new technique.

Results on another diagnostic technique, transvaginal ultrasound, are also expected later this year.