New Blood Test Shows Promise for Early Ovarian Cancer Detection

ISLAMABAD: (News Desk) -Researchers have identified a molecular signal in the blood that could help detect microscopic changes preceding ovarian cancer, potentially paving the way for earlier diagnosis of a disease often discovered after it has spread.

For decades, efforts to detect ovarian cancer at an early stage have focused on identifying smaller tumours. However, a study published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Medicine explored a different approach by looking for molecular warning signs before invasive cancer develops.

“We asked a fundamentally different question: What if we could identify the earliest molecular warning signs before invasive cancer even develops?” said study leader Rajan Gogna of the Hoag Family Cancer Institute in Newport Beach, California.

Ovarian cancer can begin with microscopic abnormalities in the lining of the fallopian tubes. These precancerous changes are known as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC).

The study found that women with STIC had elevated blood levels of an RNA molecule called Tu-Stroma.

When researchers tested blood samples for Tu-Stroma, the marker detected STIC in 92.3 per cent of affected women and correctly identified 98.2 per cent of healthy women.

Among women with inherited risk factors for ovarian cancer, approximately 72 per cent of positive results were accurate, while negative results were correct nearly 100 per cent of the time, according to the researchers.

Co-author Dr Esha Madan, also from the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, said the discovery could significantly change approaches to prevention for women at high risk.

Many women with inherited risk factors face difficult decisions about preventive surgery involving the removal of their fallopian tubes and ovaries.

Madan said such decisions are currently based largely on inherited risk, without clear evidence of whether precancerous lesions are present.

She said the discovery could eventually provide doctors with important biological information to help guide preventive treatment decisions.