Symptoms Poor Indicators Of Ovarian Cancer, Study Finds

Main Category: Ovarian Cancer
Article Date: 02 Feb 2010 - 3:00 PDT

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Only about 1% of women who experience symptoms of ovarian cancer, such as persistent bloating or pelvic pain, actually have the cancer, according to a study published Thursday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Reuters reports. Lead author Mary Anne Rossing, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, said, "What this (study) suggests is that it's going to be hard to move the diagnosis of ovarian cancer forward." Many medical societies recommend the use of these symptoms to aid early detection of ovarian cancer, but the study found no evidence that the symptoms could lead to earlier detection. About 14,000 women die from ovarian cancer annually in the U.S., and it is estimated that one in 2,500 women has the disease without knowing it. Experts do not advise routine ovarian cancer screening for the general population because of a high rate of false positives and risk for unnecessary surgeries.

Rossing and colleagues surveyed 800 women who had undergone treatment for ovarian cancer about the symptoms they experienced in the year prior to diagnosis. The researchers compared the women's responses with those of more than 1,300 women who did not have the cancer. The study found that about 60% to 70% of the women with cancer experienced symptoms on an almost daily basis for several weeks at a time. Patients who were diagnosed with late-stage cancers experienced the symptoms most frequently, while the majority of the women started experiencing symptoms a few months before their diagnosis, the study found.

The study noted that 100 women who report having symptoms would need to be examined to detect one cancer. It also found that among the women who did not have cancer, 6% had persistent symptoms. However, because the disease is rare, these women are unlikely to have it, the study said. The findings support "a cautious approach to the use of symptom patterns to trigger extensive medical evaluation for ovarian cancer," the researchers wrote.

In an accompanying commentary, Beth Karlan and Ilana Cass of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center wrote, "Importantly, these findings remind us that wide recognition of symptoms alone will not incrementally improve the overall survival from ovarian cancer," adding, "Rather, they highlight the urgent need to develop better molecular markers and improved imaging modalities for ovarian cancer screening."

Barbara Goff, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Washington who was not involved in the study, said, "The bottom line is that if you have symptoms, you need to be evaluated, whether or not it will lead to an earlier diagnosis." Even if a patient with symptoms does not have ovarian cancer, a doctor's visit could help identify another condition that is causing the symptoms, she said (Joelving, Reuters, 1/28).

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