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Test Could Help To Detect Ovarian Cancer Early

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Aug 8, 2008 6:51 pm US/Eastern

Test Could Help To Detect Ovarian Cancer Early

Links: American Cancer Society | National Cancer Institute

(KDKA) Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in women in large part because, by the time a woman notices the symptoms, the disease has already progressed.

Right now there are no early detection tests, but researchers at New York University Hospitals are working on one that could take cues from a woman's annual pap test.

"The ovarian Pap test is essentially modification of the cervical Pap test that women have been receiving as a means for detecting precancerous changes of the cervix," says Dr. David Fishman, principal investigator.

To reach the ovaries, this investigational test uses techniques like those used for infertility treatments.

"Borrowing from that medical proven technology, we started obtaining cells from the surface of ovaries in women who are having ovaries removed," explains Dr. Fishman.

Cells are analyzed for genetic changes that could signal early signs of cancer five to 10 years before it actually develops, allowing for an early diagnosis and treatment.

This early diagnosis is crucial, given the dismal statistics regarding ovarian cancer. Of the more than 21,000 women who will be diagnosed with it in the United States this year, only 20 percent will be diagnosed in the early stages. Of those diagnosed, only 45 percent will survive beyond five years.

Risk factors for ovarian cancer include age, obesity, never having had children and having a personal history of breast cancer or a family history of ovarian, breast or colorectal cancer.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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