An Overview of Ovarian Cancer Screening
Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, Medical Gynecologic Oncologist, Director of the Oncology Sexual Health Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, gives an overview of screening for ovarian cancer.
Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, Medical Gynecologic Oncologist, Director of the Oncology Sexual Health Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, gives an overview of screening for ovarian cancer.
There was recently a paper published in Lancet that looked at the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA). ROCA represents a new way to look at CA125. Historically, CA125 was checked and a level above 35 U/mL was considered abnormal. ROCA uses every woman as her own control, so to speak, Dizon says, and looks at incremental changes rather than an absolute value of CA125.
A recent paper from MD Anderson also looked at ROCA and was very provocative, Dizon says, showing that CA125 could be used serially for women concerned about their ovarian cancer risk and could be generalized to all women.
Clinical Pearls
Dizon anticipates the results from the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS), which has the potential to change the standard of care.
- ROCA uses CA125 in a new way, using every patient as her own control to look at incremental changes rather than an absolute number
