Ovarian Cancer
Patient advisory
A proactive women is committed to her health and the well-being of all women around her. Seek information and share it; develop an awareness of your body so you can recognize the warning signs of cancer; ask many questions.
The early warning signs of ovarian cancer can be confused with other illnesses, usually benign. When the following signs and symptoms are unusual for you and/or last longer than two weeks, see your doctor:
• Abdominal bloating (a feeling of fullness and swelling) in the area below your stomach and
between your hips.
• Abdominal pain or discomfort in the same area
• Any bleeding from your vagina, especially if you are postmenopausal
• Back pain
• Frequent and/or urgent need to urinate
• Lack of energy
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Unusual vaginal discharge
Can I prevent ovarian cancer?
We still have no way to prevent ovarian cancer although some things appear to lower your chances of acquiring it, such as:
• Having your tubes tied, ovaries removed, or a hysterectomy
• Pregnancy and breast-feeding
• Use of birth control pills for more than five years
Are there any screening tests available?
There are currently no valid screening tests to diagnose early ovarian cancer. The protein CA-125 is clinically approved for following the response to treatment and predicting prognosis after treatment. It is especially useful for detecting the recurrence of ovarian cancer. The key problems in using the CA-125 test as a screening tool are its lack of sensitivity and its inability to detect early-stage cancers. The goal of many cancer biologists is to develop a test that would be employed to diagnose ovarian cancer at an early stage, when the effects of therapeutic interventions are optimal.1
1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CA-125
How common is ovarian cancer?
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of death from cancer, following lung, breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among all gynecological cancers. In 2006, approximately 20,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, about 15,000 of whom died from the disease. Ovarian cancer is more prevalent in Caucasian women than in any other race.
Can ovarian cancer be hereditary?
Yes, it can. One of ten cases of ovarian cancer is hereditary. Most hereditary cases are related to mutations in two genes – BRCA-1 and BRCA-2. Approximately 10 percent of ovarian cancers and three-to-five percent of breast cancers are due to one or both mutations. This is commonly called the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome, an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome. It is characterized by many family members having breast or ovarian cancer, or both; both cancers in one family member, and early-age onset of breast cancer. Having the mutation increases your risk but does not mean you will acquire ovarian cancer. Before you consider genetic testing, be aware of all the psychological, physical, and financial implications. Genetic testing for the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome in women younger than 21 years should generally be deferred.
Additional sources of information on ovarian cancer:
http://www.acog.com
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer
http://www.ovariancancer.org