The statistics for ovarian cancer are frightening. Whereas early detection tests for breast cancer are relatively commonplace, 75-85% of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed only at a late stage, when the cancer has spread and prognosis is poor.
More than 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and over 14,000 die annually from this disease. A woman has a 1 in 70 risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her lifetime.
As there is no effective surveillance technique for detecting early stage ovarian cancer, physicians are focused instead on identifying women at risk and finding effective preventive methods.
“It isn’t clear what can be done to improve the early detection of ovarian cancer,” Dr. Robyn Andersen, an expert in ovarian cancer symptoms and screening at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, told Medical News.
Learn more about warning signs and early detection on the Clearity Portal by clicking here.