The diagnosis of ovarian cancer is complex and has a high “case-fatality” ratio. Most women are not diagnosed until the disease is in its advanced stages.[1]
Interim results from a 14-year study by the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening, also known as UKCTOCS, is a large randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in the United Kingdom, shows that ovarian cancer screening could herald a radical departure established by other cancer screening tests used today, if the final data is sufficiently conclusive.[1] “This new CA-125 ovarian cancer screening test would differentiate itself from other in vitro screening tests with its personalized nature,? noted analysts at the research and consulting firm GlobalData involved in the ongoing research.
The study, designed to assess the effect of screening on mortality involving 46,237 post-menopausal women aged 50 and over, tracked increases in levels of a protein, CA-125, in their blood. Using statistical analysis, 86% of women developing invasive epithelial ovarian cancer were correctly identified through this method. The trial is registered as ISRCTN22488978 and NCT00058032 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
An approved CA-125 screening test for ovarian cancer would likely see rapid uptake by physicians…
Final data analysis is expected in late 2015, when researchers hope to demonstrate that finding a rising level of CA-125 in the blood can be used to detect cancer at an early stage, when treatment is most successful.
“An approved CA-125 screening test for ovarian cancer would likely see rapid uptake by physicians,” said Andrew S. Thompson, Ph.D., GlobalData?s Senior Analyst covering in vitro diagnostics.
Thompson further explained ?An approved test, provided on an annual basis, could expect to see over 130 million women over the age of 50 undergoing screening in the US and five European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.”
?According to GlobalData?s research, among the seven leading economies with established cancer screening programs (the United Stares, 5EU, and Japan), the market value for a blood-based ovarian cancer screening test could be almost $8 billion per annum. Furthermore, with an aging population, the pool of eligible individuals can only increase.?
While the analyst warns that a new ovarian cancer screening test would expect to come under intense scrutiny from regulators, a CA-125 screening assay has no competition, as screening is currently not recommended for women at low risk from ovarian cancer.
Personalized treatment
?This new CA-125 ovarian cancer screening test would differentiate itself from other in vitro screening tests with its personalized nature, as it would be based not on a universal view of a population, but on each individual?s own physiology. Such a test could define a new generation of personalized cancer screening tests, but whether this revolution happens depends largely on the final outcome of the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening.?
For more information:
[1] Menon U, Gentry-Maharaj A, Hallett R, Ryan A, Burnell M, Sharma A, Lewis S, Davies S, Philpott S,et al. Sensitivity and specificity of multimodal and ultrasound screening for ovarian cancer, and stage distribution of detected cancers: results of the prevalence screen of the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS). Lancet Oncol. 2009 Apr;10(4):327-40. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(09)70026-9. Epub 2009 Mar 11.
Last Editorial Review:May 11, 2015
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