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Blood test combined with ultrasound may detect ovarian cancer at an earlier

Category: Ovarian

A new study has found that doctors may be able to diagnose ovarian cancer at an earlier stage using a contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with the proteomic analysis of a blood sample.

Hundreds of newly discovered proteins have been identified by researchers that may help doctors detect early-stage cancers. Unfortunately, it is not possible at present to confirm ovarian cancer with a single biomarker blood test.

Study author David Fishman and his colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that the use of a contrast-enhanced ultrasound machine may help confirm or refute positive blood tests.

"Separately, proteomics and ultrasound are of limited value as early-detection tools," said study co-author Arthur Fleischer, quoted by HealthFinder.gov. "However, in combination, we will likely be able to shift from an era of diagnosing advanced-stage ovarian cancer to that of early-stage disease and, most important, save the lives of many women."

Ovarian cancer is currently the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. When discovered at an advanced stage, the survival rate is only 30 percent.