XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
  Bladder
  Blood
  Bone Cancer
  Brain
  Breast Cancer
  Carcinogens
  Cervical Cancer
  Colon
  Endometrial
  Esophageal
  Gastric Cancer
  Liver Cancer
  Lung
  Nerve Tissue
  Ovarian Cancer
  Pancreatic Cancer
  Prostate Cancer
  Rectal Cancer
  Renal Cell Carcinoma
  Risk Factors
  Skin
  Testicular Cancer
  Therapy
  Thyroid
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 1:55:25 PM

Ovarian Cancer Channel
subscribe to Ovarian Cancer newsletter

Latest Research : Cancer : Ovarian Cancer

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Ovarian Cancer: Can We Make the Clinical Diagnosis Earlier?
Aug 22, 2005 - 3:21:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr.

"Our findings suggest that ovarian cancer could be diagnosed earlier in some patients whose diagnosis is currently delayed by at least 4 months because physicians order abdominal imaging or perform gastrointestinal procedures before they order a test more likely to diagnose ovarian cancer, such as pelvic imaging and/or CA125"

 
Many women diagnosed with ovarian cancer actually complained of symptoms of the disease at least four months before they were diagnosed, according to a new study to be published in the October 1, 2005 issue of CANCER (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Although patient complaints of abdominal pain and swelling are not specific for ovarian cancer, the researchers found that only about one quarter of women with these symptoms underwent pelvic imaging, or other tests to diagnose ovarian cancer, in a timely manner.

Ovarian cancer has been thought of as a silent killer, coming to the attention of physicians only at its late stages when prognosis is poor. Adding to ovarian cancer's deadly pattern is that it is a fast growing tumor, progressing from early to advanced disease in as little time as a year. There has been increasing evidence for this poorly studied disease to indicate patients may exhibit symptoms many months before advanced disease and diagnosis occurs.

Lloyd H. Smith, M.D., Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and colleagues compared diagnosis codes and claims for diagnostic procedures among 1,985 elderly women with ovarian cancer, 6,024 elderly women with localized breast cancer, and 10,941 age-matched Medicare-enrolled women without cancer.

As early as 12 months before diagnosis, women with ovarian cancer were at least twice as likely to present to a physician with abdominal swelling or pelvic pain. As early as nine months before diagnosis, women with ovarian cancer were also more likely to complain of abdominal pain. Overall, about 40 percent of these women had physician claims indicating one or more visits for abdominal or pelvic symptoms between 36 and 4 months before their ovarian cancer was diagnosed.

Only 25 percent of ovarian cancer patients had diagnostic pelvic imaging or CA125 serum tests during the period from 36 to 4 months before diagnosis. Most received abdominal imaging or diagnostic gastrointestinal studies, which would be less likely to help establish the correct diagnosis. By contrast, 54 percent of ovarian cancer patients received pelvic imaging or CA125 serum testing within 3 months before their ovarian cancer was diagnosed.

"Our findings suggest that ovarian cancer could be diagnosed earlier in some patients whose diagnosis is currently delayed by at least 4 months because physicians order abdominal imaging or perform gastrointestinal procedures before they order a test more likely to diagnose ovarian cancer, such as pelvic imaging and/or CA125," conclude the authors.
 

- "Ovarian Cancer: Can We Make the Clinical Diagnosis Earlier?" Lloyd H. Smith, Cyllene R. Morris, Shagufta Yasmeen, Arti Parikh-Patel, Rosemary D. Cress, Patrick Romano, CANCER; Published Online: August 22, 2005 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.21310); Print Issue Date: October 1, 2005.
 

October 1, 2005 issue of CANCER

 
Subscribe to Ovarian Cancer Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 



Related Ovarian Cancer News
New technique to visualise tumour cells during surgery
Autophagy helps ovarian cancer cells to survive
Ovarian cancer vaccine trials show promise
VEGF Trap shows activity in patients with advanced ovarian cancer
UBC discovery may lead to focussed therapies for metastatic breast, ovarian cancer
Ovariectomy may put younger women at risk for an earlier death
Chronic stress agitates ovarian cancer
Acetaminophen may lower ovarian cancer risk
Ginger could help fight ovarian cancer
Multimarker assay for ovarian cancer most promising to date


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us