HEALTHDetecting a killer: Too often, ovarian cancer remains hiddenSharpened clinical skills are called for in diagnosing ovarian cancer early, when it's most curable.By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. April 3, 2006. It's a given that ovarian cancer is difficult to detect. The almond-size ovaries are deep within the pelvis, and textbooks written just 10 years ago say this disease has no symptoms. But new studies indicate that it often does announce itself, and women and their physicians might hear it if they listened. Many women, for instance, don't realize that abdominal swelling and pain, fatigue and urinary problems could be symptoms of ovarian cancer. This oversight often proves fatal. An estimated 22,000 U.S. women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year, and 16,000 died of it, making it the most lethal cancer of the female reproductive system, says the National Cancer Institute. Earlier diagnosis is a life-or-death matter. Almost 70% of women with ovarian cancer are not diagnosed until the disease is in stages III or IV. If detected at stage I, the five-year survival rate is 90%. If caught in stages III or IV, that rate drops to 15% or 20%. Oncologists who treat these women encourage a heightened level of awareness from primary care doctors and female patients, particularly those past menopause. They urge consideration of ovarian cancer when a woman complains of sudden, serious and frequent symptoms. "If you don't even think about it, how can you diagnose it?" asked David Fishman, MD, director of gynecologic oncology at New York University. Granted, the complaints are often vague and could be triggered by any number of conditions, from irritable bowel syndrome to colon cancer. But more experts are promoting early evaluation through a pelvic exam, transvaginal or abdominal ultrasound and a blood test for a protein biomarker called CA-125. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
|
Feature articlesHealth reform review The Massachusetts experience Litigation stress Being sued is personal as well as professional Comprehensive coverage
Most-viewed
Nov. 9 issueHouse option for public plan wouldn't limit physician pay to Medicare rates New database for out-of-network pay set to replace disputed Ingenix system Columns and series
From the vault: 5 years agoGenetic testing issues land in primary care practices Nov. 8, 2004 
|
SHARE
