Screening for ovarian cancer: a review

Abstract

A review of the literature was done to assess the evidence for ovarian cancer screening, and the effectiveness of the different methods of screening. There is not yet sufficient evidence that an ovarian cancer screening programme would be cost-effective, given the current range of available tests. The high rate of surgical intervention makes the choice of screening test extremely important. No single test is able to provide a positive predictive value of greater than 10%. For women over 30 years of age with a strong family history of ovarian cancer (two or more first-degree relatives) there is an increased risk, potentially as high as one in two, of developing a carcinoma. These women should be offered counselling and annual serum CA 125 and ultrasonography as part of a coordinated research programme, which includes genetic studies.