Cancer Test for Women Raises Hope, and Concern

[babylonsister]

Cancer Test for Women Raises Hope, and Concern

By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: August 25, 2008


A new blood test aimed at detecting ovarian cancer at an early, still treatable stage is stirring hopes among women and their physicians. But the Food and Drug Administration and some experts say the test has not been proved to work.

The test, called OvaSure, was developed at Yale and has been offered since late June by LabCorp, one of the nation’s largest clinical laboratory companies.

The need for such a test is immense. When ovarian cancer is detected at its earliest stage, when it is still confined to the ovaries, more than 90 percent of women will live at least five years, according to the American Cancer Society. But only about 20 percent of cases are detected that early. If the cancer is detected in its latest stages, after it has spread, only about 30 percent of women survive five years.

But far from greeting the new test with elation, many experts are saying it might do more harm than good, leading women to unnecessary surgeries. The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists almost immediately issued a statement saying it did not believe the test had been validated enough for routine use.

“You’ve got industry trying to capitalize on fear,” said Dr. Andrew Berchuck, director of gynecologic oncology at Duke University and the immediate past president of the society. “We’d all love to see a screening test for ovarian cancer,” he added, “but OvaSure is very premature.”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/health/26ovar.html?ref=health

[MountainLaurel]

1. That would be so useful

Ovarian cancer is so hard to detect early enough to do anything because the symptoms are generally low key at that phase.

[beam me up scottie]

2. Yes.

My boyfriend's mother just had her ovaries removed and is going to be fine. But the only reason she caught it in time is because she's a nurse.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Yes; I know someone who's a long-term survivor because she was 'lucky' enough to get an unrelated

problem, and undergo medical tests which coincidentally revealed ovarian cancer at a very early stage. She had an operation and is fine 17 years later.

If it's discovered early enough, most patients survive. But most don't discover it till too late.

I really hope this new detection method turns out successful!

[beam me up scottie]

4. Me too.

I know several women who had their ovaries unnecessarily removed during hysterectomies because they were afraid of future tumors.