Scientist Pan Wang at Peking University in China has developed an ovarian cancer test that can help oncologists diagnose ovarian cancer earlier. The test will detect ovarian cancer earlier and faster than current diagnostic methods. This is a significant scientific breakthrough, given the poor prognosis for those who develop this cancer.
This ovarian cancer test looks very promising and could extend longevity
This type of cancer, particularly epithelial ovarian cancer, is one of the deadliest and makes up 90% of ovarian cancers.
Women who are diagnosed with this cancer struggle to live beyond five years after diagnosis. The reason for this poor outcome is that the symptoms do not show easily. This means the cancer can remain undetected until it’s well advanced.
Why is ovarian cancer so difficult to detect?
Current diagnostics to detect ovarian cancer include CA125. This is a type of blood test of protein. However, current tests are not always reliable.
For example, a population screening programme conducted on over 200,000 women in the UK did not reduce the number of deaths.
New ovarian test is a breakthrough
In a paper, “Profiling the metabolome of uterine fluid for early detection of ovarian cancer,” published in Cell Reports Medicine, the research team details the markers and methods used to develop the test. The new ovarian cancer test was developed by Pan Wang at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University in China with his colleagues.
Scientists collected uterine fluid from 219 female cancer patients for the study.
According to GeoTV, “It also included those with early-stage ovarian cancer, late-stage ovarian cancer, benign ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer.
The fluid coming from the ovaries and fallopian tubes contains cells, metabolic products, or metabolites. While conducting the analysis, the researchers found that the metabolites of 96 women were distinguishable from those in the early stages.
Accuracy of this test
They identified a group of seven metabolites, including the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine, that could be used for diagnosis.
After this, they conducted the standard testing of CA123 used to detect cancer. Researchers concluded that the new test accurately diagnosed ovarian cancer in its early stages.”
Speaking to GeoTV, Eric Eisenhauer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said: “The results are promising, but the test needs to be validated by a larger group of people.”
“Effective non-surgical testing for early-stage ovarian cancer has been elusive for more than five decades,” he told GeoTV.
Early detection is key and this ovarian cancer test is promising
This is a positive development and augurs well for women’s health. Eisenhauer told GeoTV, “Most currently available tests for early detection have difficulty identifying ovarian cancer while it is still at an early stage. I would like to see this profile validated in a larger prospective data set, but this initial report shows much promise.
Others in the scientific community are cautious. Some suggest that more research is needed. For now, it’s unlikely this is a stand-alone ovarian cancer diagnostic screening tool for the general population. Every step taken by scientists to help with more accurate earlier detection of ovarian cancer is a good leap for ovarian health.
