Cancer

Large trial finds annual screening doesn't reduce deaths from ovarian cancer

Annual screening for ovarian cancer with the CA-125 blood test and transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) does not reduce a woman’s risk of dying from the disease, according to the results of a large clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. Ovarian cancer is 90% curable when treated early, but most cases are diagnosed late, when the five-year survival rate is less than 30%. Nearly 14,000 women die from the disease every year.

As part of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, researchers at the University of Utah evaluated whether yearly screening could lead to earlier detection and reduce mortality. Results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago and published online in The Journal of the American Medical Association on June 4, 2011.

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