Find out how to detect ovarian cancer early

US scientists have just succeeded in discovering early-stage ovarian cancer through a blood test, paving the way for the technique to identify patients without needing surgery.

>>>Opportunities for ovarian cancer patients

According to a study by scientists at the University of Texas, USA published on the Canadian television news network (CBC) on August 26, the study was conducted on 4,051 menopausal women within 11 years.

Participants were periodically tested for blood levels of CA125 - a protein made by ovarian tumors, including harmless cysts.

As a result, 83% of women are in normal risk and participate in annual blood tests; about 14% of women are in the intermediate group and repeat the test every 3 months; Nearly 3% of women in high-risk groups are required to go for an ultrasound and consult with a gynecologist.

Periodic blood tests help detect ovarian cancer early.(Source: AP)

All 4 infected women in this group were enrolled in the study for at least 3 years and had a low CA125 index during their first blood test. However, this index increased during later checks.

Researchers say the goal of blood testing is to find out exactly what tumors are when they are still in a treatable stage.

Ovarian cancer, though uncommon but can be fatal because symptoms are often absent or unclear, are difficult to detect early.

In addition, due to the relatively low incidence of ovarian cancer in women, a screening strategy to minimize unnecessary surgeries due to false positive values ​​is very important.

Experts also evaluated the two-step strategy for screening for ovarian cancer in menopausal women who have had excellent success in identifying patients with this disease without surgery.

However, researchers are awaiting the results of another study conducted in the UK with similar algorithms but larger in scale, including about 200,000 random participants.

This second study also aims to determine the ability of ovarian cancer patients to reduce mortality by examining blood levels of CA125 periodically.

In addition, scientists are studying other biomarkers of ovarian cancer. If the study is successful, this measure will be applied as a screening test for patients.