Ovarian cancer spotted earlier in blood tests

A study has suggested that taking a blood test every four months could help women at high-risk of ovarian cancer find tumours early.

The Journal of Clinical Oncology trialled 4,348 worms and found that cancers were detected earlier, which doctors maintain makes them easier to treat. Undertaken at 42 centres across the UK, the trial monitored levels of a chemical called CA125 in women's blood three times a year - as elevated levels are seen as a sign of cancer.

During three years of screening and the year after the last test, 19 cancers were detected. Ten of them were at an early stage. In the five years after that, 18 more ovarian cancers were detected, with only one of them was at an early stage.

While it is not clear if the regular blood test would save lives, it suggests that the earlier the tumour is found, which screening helps achieve, the better the chances are of survival.

Approximately two in every 100 women will develop ovarian cancer at some point in their life. There remains no screening programme for the disease at present, so high-risk women are advised to have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

Usha Menon, professor of gynaecological cancer from UCL, told the BBC website: "What we're trying to do is get women to have surgery. From my point of view, women really struggle with this issue of menopause, and it seems like four-monthly screening is better than symptom awareness. The screening definitely picks up less advanced disease, but we cannot say for sure if we're saving lives."

Menon is calling on UK health officials to review screening and all other advice to high-risk women.

Annwen Jones, the chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, added: "An effective screening programme for women at high risk of ovarian cancer due to family history would potentially have a major impact on mortality and survival from this disease.

"But it is still uncertain whether detecting ovarian cancer by screening increases the chance of a woman surviving the disease overall. Women at a higher risk of ovarian cancer still need to weigh up the risks and benefits of surveillance versus preventative surgery."