Cancer study promising

Ovarian cancer, which kills some 100,000 women a year worldwide, is a particularly insidious disease because most women are diagnosed after it has spread beyond the ovaries. By then there is only a maximum 30 percent chance of survival.

British researchers, using blood tests and ultrasound, have been able to detect the disease about two years earlier than normal, according to a new study published Wednesday. This is a highly promising development because if ovarian cancer is detected early, nearly 90 percent of women survive.

The American Cancer Society officials expressed cautious optimism, as the research is ongoing. Yet, the early findings suggest this screening could significantly improve survival odds for women who develop ovarian cancer.

One of the most vexing aspects of ovarian cancer is its symptoms are nonspecific and mimic those of many other more common conditions. Symptoms can include feeling bloated; vague abdominal and pelvic discomfort; and gastrointestinal symptoms such as gas, nausea and indigestion. Other symptoms include constipation, diarrhea, frequent urination; back pain and fatigue; discomfort during sex and vaginal bleeding. Women who experience these symptoms for a few weeks should consult a doctor.

Some experts question if diagnoses aided by blood tests and ultrasound are "early enough" to make significant differences in outcomes. Researchers must also weigh the tests' benefits against their cost.

Considering that health-care providers catch only about 15 percent of early ovarian cancers, the findings of this research should not be underestimated. Using blood tests, ovarian cancer was detected 89 percent of the time. Using just ultrasound, the detection rate was about 75 percent. Among those patients, half of the cancers were detected at an early stage.

It is, of course, too soon to say definitively whether these detection methods improve the odds until the study is completed in 2014. Yet, these early findings provide hope to women who may have a greater likelihood of developing this cancer due to a family history or other known risk factors.