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.
Another clinical trial is expected to provide additional insight into the potential of screening with CA-125 and TVUS. The U.K. Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening is following more than 200,000 women randomly assigned to usual care, annual TVUS, or annual CA-125 testing followed by TVUS if indicated by the blood test results. Preliminary data from this study suggest that both screening methods are more effective at detecting early ovarian cancer than usual care. However, final results won’t be known until 2015.
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