The Change Mariner

New Ovarian Cancer Test

New York Times:

Jill Doimer's mother died in 2002 from ovarian cancer, detected too late to be effectively treated.

So Ms. Doimer is eagerly awaiting the introduction of a new test that holds the promise of detecting early-stage ovarian cancer far more accurately than any test available now, using only blood from a finger prick.

Not only does she plan to be tested, but an advocacy group she helped found, Ovarian Awareness of Kentucky, also intends to spread the word to women and doctors.

"If it's going to happen to me or anyone I know, I want it to be caught at an early stage," said Ms. Doimer, who lives in Louisville.

The new test, expected to be available in the next few months, could have a big effect on public health if it works as advertised. That is because when ovarian cancer is caught early, when it is treatable by surgery, more than 90 percent of women live five years or longer. But right now, about three-quarters of cases are detected after the cancer has advanced, and then only 35 percent of women survive five years.

The test is also the first to use a new technology that some believers say could revolutionize diagnostics. It looks not for a single telltale protein --like the prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A., used to diagnose prostate cancer -- but rather for a complex fingerprint formed by all the proteins in the blood. Similar tests are being developed for prostate, pancreatic, breast and other cancers. The technique may work for other diseases as well.

...

The test, called OvaCheck, was developed by Correlogic Systems Inc., of Bethesda, Md., with scientists from the National Cancer Institute and the Food and Drug Administration.

Posted by Bob King at February 3, 2004 10:57 AM | TrackBack
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