Ovarian cancer boost

Hopes early detection test can save lives

A SCREENING test being developed by Melbourne scientists aims to detect ovarian cancer in its early stages to improve survival rates.

There are no early detection tests for the cancer, which claims the lives of almost 1000 women a year, so many women are diagnosed when the tumours have spread, making it harder to treat.

Hudson Institute of Medical Research scientists are developing a screening tool they hope will replicate the success of screening programs, such as mammograms and Pap smears for breast and cervical cancers.

The early detection test will be trialled next year on Vic- torian women with a high risk of developing ovarian cancer.

It works by detecting several proteins secreted by the tumours to help them hide within the body.

Andrew Stephens said ovarian cancer had the highest mortality rate for all gynaecological cancers. The five-year survival rate is 44 per cent.

“In addition to better therapies we also need better ways to diagnose and detect these cancers early and so one of the major aims of what we are trying to do is to develop a testing regimen that we can use to actually screen for the presence of disease,” Dr Stephens said.

“The ultimate goal is to have a screening program that can detect disease in the absence of any symptoms, which allows for earlier treatment and gives women the best chance of survival.”

With Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation funding, he and his team had made headway understanding highgrade ovarian cancers, which are the most commonly diag- nosed and account for the majority of deaths.

The team has developed a diagnostic tool that tests for several protein markers the tumour produces, which are not found in healthy tissue.

“We’ve done some preliminary testing, which has been quite successful,” he said.

“We have been able to detect early stage disease where the cancer is still confined to the ovary.”