A Way To Screen for Ovarian Cancer?

Looking at the rate of change in a blood test may be a good way to screen healthy women for ovarian cancer, a new study suggests. This form of cancer usually is diagnosed late, when it is hard to cure. The new study included a test for the protein CA-125. Blood levels are high in many women with ovarian cancer. But this protein can be high for other reasons, too. More than 3,200 older women were tested for CA-125. Researchers calculated each woman’s risk based on her CA-125 level and how it changed over time. Women at low risk were tested each year. Medium-risk women got tests every three months. The study lasted nine years. In this time, 85 women with the highest risk received ultrasound tests to look for signs of cancer. Eight of them were referred for surgery. The surgery found three invasive cancers, all in early stages. Two women had “borderline” tumors.