Skip to main content

Symptom-Triggered Testing Can ID Low Disease Burden in Ovarian Cancer

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Aug 16, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Aug. 16, 2024 -- Symptom-triggered testing can identify women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer with low disease burden, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.

Fong Lien Audrey Kwong, from The Pan-Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre at the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the potential value of symptom-triggered testing in the detection of early-stage disease or low tumor burden for women presenting via the fast-track pathway and who were diagnosed with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Women presenting with symptoms suspicious for ovarian cancer received a CA125 blood test and an ultrasound scan in the event of an abnormal CA125 level. If either test was abnormal, the women were referred to secondary care within two weeks.

Overall, 119 of 1,741 participants (6.8 percent) recruited via the fast-track pathway were diagnosed with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. The researchers found that 112 of these participants (94.1 percent) had a performance status of 0 and 1; 30 (25.2 percent) were diagnosed with stages I/II; and low-to-moderate disease distribution was identified in 77 (64.7 percent). Overall, 73 and 18 patients achieved complete and optimal cytoreduction (61.3 and 15.1 percent, respectively). The extent of disease was low, moderate, high, and not available in 36.1, 28.6, 26.9, and 8.4 percent, respectively. Seventy-eight women (65.5 percent) with high-grade serous ovarian cancer underwent primary debulking surgery.

"Symptom-triggered testing may help to identify women with low disease burden, potentially contributing to high complete cytoreduction rates and improving survival outcomes in these patients," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and other industries.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...

Persistent, New Mucus Plugs Associated With Faster Decline in FEV1 in COPD

WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025 -- For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), persistent and newly formed mucus plugs are associated with a faster decrease in forced...

Combinations of Chronic, Physical Illnesses Up the Risk of Subsequent Depression

WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025 -- Certain groups of physical multimorbidity may be associated with a higher risk of subsequent depression, according to a study published online May 13...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.