Ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose in its early stages. It does not have any specific symptoms and most patients are diagnosed in the advanced stages when the results of treatment are poor. On the other hand when they are diagnosed in its early stage the five year survival rate is about 90% as compared to 20% in the late stage.
Up till now there have not been any significant screening tests such as Pap smear to screen for cervical cancer. According to Alisa Leisa, MD of Yale University, a highly sensitive blood test comprising of six biological markers can be used to detect the disease in its early stages. The positive predictive value is 93% in the test population and a negative predictive value of 99.2%. Yale University is currently enrolling women at high risk of ovarian cancer and healthy controls.
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