Catching Ovarian Cancer Early

“Ovarian cancer is the second-most-common gynecological cancer in the U.S.,” says Barbara A. Goff, M.D., with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. It is, however, very aggressive, killing more women than all gynecological cancers combined, primarily because its warning signs are often ignored or misunderstood. It is frequently detected in advanced stages because, currently, there are no screening tests.

“For years people thought that ovarian cancer was a silent killer and that there were no warning signs,” says Goff, “but we’ve done quite a lot of research here at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and are actually debunking that myth. It’s really important to educate women and practitioners about those signs,” says Goff.

The warning signs include:

• Bloating

• Increase in abdominal size

• Difficulty eating

• Feeling full quickly

• Abdominal and pelvic pain

• Urinary symptoms

“These are symptoms that we all have from time to time…. [But] when people have the symptoms that persist for more than a couple weeks—two, three weeks—these are symptoms that are occurring not just periodically, they occur almost every day or every other day, these are symptoms that are definitely concerning for ovarian cancer,” says Goff. If these signs are present, a physician may do a pelvic exam and other tests, such as a transvaginal ultrasound, to determine if a mass exists and then follow up with a surgical biopsy for the diagnosis.

Goff’s research on the early warning signs of ovarian cancer was funded by the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research, a Seattle-based organization. “We are so excited that the word is getting out; we don’t want women to think that there is nothing proactively that they can do [about ovarian cancer],” says Wendy Law-Rudge, Ph.D., director of scientific programs for the center.

Other research funded by the Rivkin Center has led to the identification of a link between a mutation of the SMARCA4 gene and small-cell carcinoma of the ovary, a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer, as well as new treatments for the cognitive effects of chemotherapy and advancements toward developing an early detection method for the general population. In addition, the center offers a screening program for high-risk patients and cohosts a biennial scientific symposium, along with Swedish Medical Center and the American Association for Cancer Research.