Ovarian cancers are often detected at an advanced stage, which is more difficult to treat. The cause: non-specific symptoms and first signs that appear when the disease is already advanced. Among ovarian cancers, high-grade serous carcinoma is the most common ovarian cancer and corresponds to approximately 50 to 70% of epithelial tumors. “Very often, the tumor is discovered at stage III or IV.”specifies the League against Cancer.
So while 5-year survival is 93% in women diagnosed at early stages (I and II), it falls to 13% in women diagnosed at stages III and IV. Yet growing evidence suggests that symptoms occur 3 months to 3 years before diagnosis. But a recent study, published dans The International journal of gyncecological cancer, comes to shake up beliefs.
Three symptoms in particular should raise alarm and warrant urgent investigations – symptom-triggered screening.
Aggressive cancer detected early in 1 in 4 women
As the UK pushes for ovarian cancer screening for women with these symptoms, researchers at the University of Birmingham wanted to find out if the protocol really works. Between June 2015 and July 2022, out of 1,741 women taking part in the study Refining Ovarian Cancer Test accuracy Scores (ROCkeTS), 119 were diagnosed with high-grade ovarian cancer. And in one in four of these women (30 women, 25%), the cancer could be detected at an early stage. The cancerous tissue could be completely removed in 73 women (61%) and almost completely removed in 15% of them. In 9 cases, the tumor was inoperable.
“Our figures demonstrate that in a real-world setting, symptom-based testing can potentially lead to the diagnosis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer with low spread of disease and result in a high proportion of complete surgical removal of the cancer,” write the researchers. “Importantly, our findings highlight the importance of increasing awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms to facilitate earlier diagnosis via fast-track pathway referral to improve patient outcomes.”
Please note : in France, 5,348 ovarian cancers were diagnosed in 2023, 3,935 deaths were recorded in 2020. No screening examination is carried out. It is the gynecological examination which will lead, if necessary, to additional explorations, MRI, ultrasound and the systematic search for the CA 125 protein, a tumor marker for ovarian cancer.
