A new formula for diagnosing ovarian cancer may decrease deaths from the disease by 20 percent. By combining a type of blood test and ultrasound imaging, patients may be saved from a cancer, which signs and symptoms appear late in the disease.
Ovarian cancer generally has poor prognosis. As per records, only 40 percent of patients survive within a period of five years. Researchers from the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer (UKCTOCS) performed a clinical trial to determine the impacts of early diagnosis by examining ovarian cancer mortality.
The study involved a total of 202,546 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 74 years old, who were deemed eligible for the investigation. They were recruited from 13 National Health Service Trusts centers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The participants were randomly assigned to undergo either annual multimodal screening (MMS), transvaginal ultrasound (USS) or no screening at all. MMS involves interpreting an ovarian cancer indicator called serum CA125 via an established algorithm.
The trial was performed from June 1, 2001 to Oct. 21, 2005. The main outcome will be based on the number of deaths due to ovarian cancer among the groups by Dec. 31, 2014.
After a median follow-up of 11.1 years, the researchers were able to diagnose ovarian cancer in a total of 1,282 participants. Diagnosis rates among the three study groups were as follows: 338 women from the MMS group, 314 women from the USS group and 630 from the no screening group. The researchers also obtained the mortality rates from each group during the said follow-up period. They found that 148, 154 and 347 women from the MMS, USS and no screening groups died due to ovarian cancer respectively.
Co-author Ian Jacobs from the University College London said the findings provide estimated values of mortality decline due to screening, which range from 15 percent to 28 percent.
For Dr. Don Dizon from Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, the findings imply little changes. "I'm underwhelmed by the results," he said. He commented that while the study provides hope to cancer screening, the picture remains unclear and that the results were a bit misleading. The only thing it can do is to contribute to research, but definitely not to signal a new massive screening program.
"Further follow-up is needed to assess the extent of the mortality reduction before firm conclusions can be reached on the long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness of ovarian cancer screening," the authors wrote.
The study was published in the The Lancet on Dec. 17.
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