Originally published September 8 2005
Early detection of ovarian cancer may be possible, study shows
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new study shows women may experience abdominal swelling, bloating or pain before they are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, giving some hints for early detection of a disease that was previously thought to have few early symptoms.
Abdominal swelling, pain, and other symptoms are common in the months before ovarian cancer is diagnosed, a new study shows.
"Some patients with ovarian cancer do report symptoms many months before their ultimate diagnosis, and some ovarian cancer patients could have had an earlier diagnosis if pelvic imaging was included in their workup," Dr. Lloyd H. Smith told Reuters Health.
Ovarian cancer is generally thought of as a silent disease, because it doesn't cause severe symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage.
Smith, from the University of California at Davis, Sacramento, and his colleagues used data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program and from Medicare claims for California women who developed ovarian cancer to investigate whether symptoms preceded a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and whether an earlier clinical diagnosis is possible in patients with ovarian cancer.
Data for 1985 women with ovarian cancer, 10,941 with breast cancer and 6024 "control" subjects without cancer were included in the analysis, according to the team's report in the medical journal Cancer.
Abdominal swelling and pain were significantly more common six months prior to diagnosis in the women with ovarian cancer than among women in the noncancer and breast cancer groups, the researchers report.
"Our findings suggest that ovarian cancer could be diagnosed earlier in some patients whose diagnosis currently is delayed by at least 4 months, because physicians order abdominal imaging or perform gastrointestinal procedures before they order a test that is more likely to diagnose ovarian cancer," the authors conclude.
"If routine medical evaluation fails to explain the symptoms and they persist, then testing for ovarian cancer should be considered," Smith concluded.
Of course, he added, "As is true for many diagnostic tests in the setting of symptom evaluation, many patients may have a negative test."
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml