Ovarian cancer is a dreadful disease since it is mostly detected at late stages. Its symptoms are non specifics (bloating, weight gain, increasing abdominal girth, etc). By the time the patient has these symptoms, the cancer is already stage III or IV (stage is how spread the cancer with stage I is early and IV is the last stage).
Despite tremendous amount of research, we still do not have the "pap smear" for ovarian cancer. Tumor markers such as blood test Ca125 and Ultrasound are not yet effective in screening for this cancer. The main challenge in developing ovarian screening test is due to the low prevalence of the disease. Even if we have a test that is very sensitive and specific, we would ended up taking many women to the operating room removing benign ovarian mass, not cancer (false positive). The new Ova1 blood test is indicated to triage women with ovarian mass whether she should be operated by a gynecologist versus a gynecologic oncologists - not for screening.
However, Ultrasound is very helpful to get if you start to have new symptoms as mentioned above. Blood tests such as Ca125 and HE4 are very helpful in monitoring how ovarian cancer responding to chemotherapy. It is still important for women to be aware of her body. If she starts to gain weight without good explanation, feeling full easily, vague abdominal and pelvic symptoms, it is good idea to see your physician for examination.
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