St. Louis Post-Dispatch Examines Symptoms, Screening Methods For Ovarian Cancer

St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday examined the symptoms associated with ovarian cancer and screening methods to detect the disease (Quinn, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/18). For U.S. women, ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths, and nearly three in four ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed after the disease has spread beyond the ovaries (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/31). According to the Post-Dispatch, ovarian cancer, which is relatively rare, has a high mortality rate and kills three out of four women who develop it. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are "vague" and often associated with "something else entirely," the Post-Dispatch report. They include abdominal bloating or discomfort, abdominal pressure, nausea, gas, indigestion, changes in bowel habits, urinary frequency, shortness of breath, rectal pain, pain during intercourse and unexplained weight loss or weight gain. According to the Post-Dispatch, there is "no good screening test for ovarian cancer" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/18). Most recent research on ovarian cancer screening has focused on transvaginal ultrasounds and blood tests. The transvaginal ultrasound is performed by placing a small instrument inside the vagina, while the blood test screens for the protein CA-125, which often is higher in women with ovarian cancer (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/31). Women who have two or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer have a 15% chance of developing ovarian cancer, and women with genetic mutations, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 have a 50% chance, the Post-Dispatch reports (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/18). About one in 400 people is believed to have either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/24).

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