A study published in the found that the UK's protocol for picking up early-stage disease in women with high grade serous ovarian cancer—the most common, aggressive, and lethal form of the disease—is an effective way to diagnose even early-stage ovarian cancer. The findings also show that complete surgical removal of the cancerous tissue is possible even in more advanced disease, providing that women with suspicious symptoms are expedited for investigation and treatment, they add. A team of researchers led by the University of Birmingham analyzed data for 1,741 women taking part in the Refining Ovarian Cancer Test accuracy Scores (ROCkeTS) study, which involves 24 UK hospitals.
The women had all been fast tracked for treatment under the symptom-triggered testing rapid access pathway. Sudha Sundar, Professor of Gynecological Cancer at the University of Birmingham and the Pan Birmingham Gynecological Cancer Center at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital NHS trust said, "Our figures demonstrate that in a real-world setting, symptom-based testing can potentially lead to diagnosis of high grade serous with low disease spread and results in a high proportion of complete surgical removal of the cancer." "These findings challenge the assumption that the disease should always be considered to be in its advanced stages in women once they develop symptoms.
"More importantly, our findings emphasize the importance of increasing an awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms to facilitate ear.