SEATTLE, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Women's reports of persistent,
recent-onset symptoms linked to ovarian cancer -- abdominal or pelvic pain,
difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and abdominal bloating -- when
combined with the CA125 blood test may improve the early detection of
ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to new findings by researchers at
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published online today in CANCER.
Research has found that when used alone, a simple four-question
symptom-screening questionnaire and the CA125 ovarian-cancer blood test
each detect about 60 percent of women with early-stage ovarian cancer and
80 percent of those with late-stage disease. This study found that when
used together, the questionnaire and blood test may boost early-detection
rates to more than 80 percent and late-stage detection rates to more than
95 percent.
"Of course, it is the increase in the detection of early-stage disease
that is the most exciting," said lead author M. Robyn Andersen, Ph.D., an
associate member of the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson
Center. Cure rates for those diagnosed when the disease is confined to the
ovary are approximately 70 percent to 90 percent. However, more than 70
percent of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed with advanced-stage
disease, when the survival rate is only 20 percent to 30 percent.
"This research suggests that if a woman has one or more symptoms that
are new for her, having begun within the past year, and if the symptoms
happen nearly daily or at least 12 times a month, that may well be a signal
to go in and discuss those symptoms with her doctor," Andersen said. "It's
probably not going to be ovarian cancer, just as most breast lumps are not
breast cancer, but it's still a sign that it might be worth checking with
her doctor to see if a CA125 blood test and transvaginal ultrasound may be
appropriate."
Assessing the symptoms included in the symptom-screening index may
already be done by some doctors based on a consensus statement issued last
year by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers hope their
symptom index will help doctors know which among their patients who
complain of symptoms such as abdominal swelling and pelvic pain might have
cancer.
The symptom-screening index, developed in 2006 by paper co-author
Barbara A. Goff, M.D., professor and director of Gynecologic Oncology at
the University of Washington School of Medicine, is not used proactively in
clinical general practice, but Andersen and colleagues are conducting a
pilot study to assess the value of using it as a screening tool among
normal-risk women as part of their routine medical-history assessment.
For the just-published study, the researchers administered the symptom
questionnaire to 75 women about to undergo surgery for pelvic masses who
were later diagnosed with ovarian cancer (the case group), and 254 healthy
women at high risk for ovarian cancer due to a family history of the
disease (the control, or comparison, group). The cases were recruited
through Pacific Gynecology Specialists at Swedish Medical Center in
Seattle, and the controls were recruited through the Ovarian Cancer Early
Detection Study, a joint project of the Hutchinson Center and the Marsha
Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research.
The National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, the Marsha
Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research and the Canary Foundation
supported this research.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams
of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent,
diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers,
including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for
health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more
information, please visit fhcrc.org.
THE OVARIAN-CANCER SYMPTOM-SCREENING INDEX
The following symptoms are only considered significant for ovarian
cancer if a woman experiences one or more at least 12 times a month and if
they are of recent onset, having occurred within the past 12 months:
-- Abdominal/pelvic pain
-- Eating: Feeling full quickly
-- Eating: Unable to eat normally
-- Abdominal bloating or increased abdominal size
If a woman frequently experiences one or of the above symptoms she
should contact her physician, who may then prescribe a CA125 blood test
and/or transvaginal ultrasound.
CONTACT
Kristen Woodward
206-667-5095
kwoodwar@fhcrc.org
SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Related links:
http://www.fhcrc.org
CONTACT:
Kristen Woodward of Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, +1-206-667-5095, kwoodwar@fhcrc.org
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