Hello
This month in our ‘Health in Focus’ posts, we’re looking at ways to promote earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer. In the last two weeks, we’ve posted an overview of some aspects of screening (healthunlocked.com/ovacome/... and some information about using diagnostic tests for screening (healthunlocked.com/ovacome/.... Today we’ll look at research into ovarian cancer screening using other techniques. Next week we’ll look at the existing screening programmes for other types of cancer.
As we mentioned in our first two posts, screening means testing for early signs of a health change, before symptoms develop. Diagnostic testing, by contrast, is done in response to symptoms and aims to find out what is causing them. As well as research into using diagnostic tests as a screening method, alternative approaches are being developed and could be useful in the future.
One of these alternative approaches is called a ‘liquid biopsy.’ This means taking a blood sample and testing it for things that have been found to be connected to ovarian cancer. For example, tests can look for cancer cells circulating in the blood or substances shed from cancer cells such as pieces of abnormal DNA.
Many liquid biopsies that are currently being tested involve detecting multiple changes to make the test as accurate as possible. This is in contrast to the existing CA 125 diagnostic blood test, which tests for a single protein. As we mentioned last week, CA 125 is only raised in about 50 per cent (5 in 10) of people with ovarian cancer and it can be raised for a number of other reasons apart from cancer.
An example of a liquid biopsy that you may have seen in the media recently is called the Galleri test, which tests blood samples for abnormal DNA from tumours (cancerresearchuk.org/about-.... Although research so far suggests that the test could potentially detect a number of different cancers, including ovarian cancer, at an earlier stage than existing diagnostic tests, more research is needed to confirm how effective the test is.
An NHS trial of the Galleri test is due to start in the UK later this year. The trial will explore the test both as a screening method and a diagnostic test. The screening part of the trial will recruit 140,000 people aged 50-79 with no symptoms and test them annually for three years. Anyone with a positive test will be referred for further investigation. The diagnostic part of the trial will offer Galleri tests to 25,000 people with possible cancer symptoms who have been referred to hospital.
The aim of the trial is to find out whether the Galleri test can help to diagnose cancer earlier, as a screening method and/or a diagnostic test. These initial pilot studies are expected to report their results by 2023. If these results are positive, the plan is to expand them to about a million participants in 2024 and 2025.
As we mentioned in our first post, before deciding whether to introduce a new screening programme, it’s very important to gather enough evidence to confirm whether the test saves lives. It is therefore likely to be several years before a firm conclusion can be reached as to whether the Galleri, or any other test, will be used for cancer screening or diagnosis.
As well as the medical and laboratory-based research, there are also other potential alternative ways to help with earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer. You might remember that last year we posted about a survey by a researcher called Elizabeth Dolan at Nottingham University. (healthunlocked.com/ovacome/....
Elizabeth is studying the shopping habits of people diagnosed with ovarian cancer before their diagnosis. For example, Elizabeth asked in her survey whether respondents had bought health products such as those for digestive health or pain relief to manage their symptoms before they were diagnosed.
The aim of her research is to find out whether there is a recognisable pattern to purchases that could be a sign that someone should be investigated for possible ovarian cancer. Using machine learning, in which a computer analyses data and learns to identify patterns, Elizabeth plans to explore whether it might be possible to use data from shop loyalty cards to find people who could be investigated for ovarian cancer based on their purchases.
You can read more about screening for ovarian cancer in our information booklet at ovacome.org.uk/screening-fo....
If you would like more information about screening for ovarian cancer, please get in touch with our Support Service on 0800 008 7054 or at support@ovacome.org.uk.
Best wishes
Julia
Ovacome Support
First 3 month review-update
World Ovarian Cancer Day: May 8th 2013
