Finding a way to detect ovarian cancer early

American scientists have just succeeded in detecting early stage ovarian cancer through a blood test, paving the way for a technique to identify patients with the disease without surgery.

According to a study by scientists at the University of Texas, USA, published on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on August 26, the study was conducted on 4,051 women of menopausal age over a period of 11 years.

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

Participants had regular blood tests to measure levels of CA125, a protein produced by ovarian tumors, including harmless cysts.

As a result, 83% of women were in the normal risk group and participated in annual blood tests; about 14% of women were in the intermediate group and had to repeat the tests every 3 months; nearly 3% of women were in the high risk group, were required to have an ultrasound and consult a gynecologist.

All four women in this group had been in the study for at least three years and had low CA125 levels at their first blood test. However, the levels rose at subsequent tests.

The goal of the blood test is to pinpoint tumors when they are still at a treatable stage, researchers say.

Ovarian cancer is not common but can be fatal because symptoms are often absent or unclear, making it difficult to detect the disease early.

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

Experts also evaluated a two-step strategy for ovarian cancer screening in postmenopausal women as being highly successful in identifying patients with the disease without surgery.

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

This second study also aimed to determine the potential for reducing mortality in women with ovarian cancer by routinely checking blood levels of CA125.

In addition, scientists are also researching other biomarkers of ovarian cancer. If the research is successful, this measure will be applied as a form of screening test to serve patients./.

According to (TTXVN) - VT