It has been found by medical experts that ovarian cancer has one of the lowest survival rates, but a recent study may give hope to those in crisis- a new blood screening program that can help detect early the disease. It has also been found that it can reduce deaths caused by ovarian cancer by about 20 percent, Fox News reports.
The ongoing study suggests that women who undergone he new annual screening program called ROCA, which is intended for early detection of ovarian cancer were less likely to die compared to women who did not participate the screening.
The study followed 200,000 post-menopausal women ages 50 to 74 for 14 years and about 1,280 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer within that period. 650 women had died of ovarian cancer by December 2014, when the tests ended.
The ROCA blood screening detects changes in levels of a blood protein called CA125, a determinant of ovarian cancer.
As stated in a report, the researchers estimated that about 15 ovarian cancer deaths might be prevented for every 10,000 women who are screened annually for between seven to 11 years.
However, Dr. Fiona Reddington, Cancer Research UK's head of population, who was not involved with the study said that overall, It is still uncertain whether or not screening can reduce ovarian cancer deaths, and that while she acknowledged that the study is an important step in ovarian cancer research, they still would not recommend a national screening as of the moment.
Ian Jacobs, president and vice-chancellor of UNSW Australia who co-invented ROCA said that the study needed longer follow-up. "But this [ROCA] brings hope in the fight against a disease for which the outlook for women is poor and has not improved much during the last three decades,"Jacobs added.
"Longer follow-up is needed," study author Ian Jacobs, president and vice-chancellor of UNSW Australia and an honorary professor at University College London, who co-invented ROCA, said in the release. "But this brings hope in the fight against a disease for which the outlook for women is poor and has not improved much during the last three decades."
"It's uncertain whether or not screening can reduce ovarian cancer deaths overall," Dr. Fiona Reddington, Cancer Research UK's head of population, who wasn't involved in the study, said in the release. "While this is an important step in ovarian cancer research, we would not recommend a national screening program at this point."
