ONE woman dies from ovarian cancer every 10 hours in Australia.
But this statistic could change with the development of an early detection test.
“Less than 25% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer survive beyond five years,” said the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation’s chief executive Lucinda Nolan.
“If we had an early detection test, this would increase to 80 -100%.
“An early screening program for ovarian cancer needs to be part of a women’s health check, similar to pap smears and mammograms,” she said.
The good news is an early detection test could be on the horizon.
The foundation’s co founder Thomas Jobling said researchers are getting closer to a breakthrough.
"We are making significant progress and are currently trialling an early diagnostic test in patients and high risk women,” said Associate Professor Jobling, who is also the director of gynaecologic oncology at Monash Medical Centre.
"We've also discovered a non-toxic antibody that could help prevent ovarian tumours from invading nearby cells."
Ovarian cancer is most common in women over 50 and has a lower survival rate than both breast and cervical cancer.
It usually presents no symptoms in its early stages, though vague symptoms, such as bloating, abdominal pain, weight change, back pain and indigestion can occur.
By the time most women are diagnosed the disease is already in the advanced stages.
- Monday is World Ovarian Cancer Day.
