- Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in women in the United States.
- Early diagnosis gives a higher chance of successful treatment.
- However, ovarian cancer is hard to diagnose as symptoms are often similar to those of gastrointestinal disorders.
- Now, new research has identified three previously unknown proteins from ovarian cancer that can be detected in the blood.
- These may facilitate ovarian cancer diagnosis, allowing treatment to start early when it is likely to be most effective.
Ovarian cancer is any cancerous growth that starts in the ovaries — organs low in the abdomen that produce eggs in females.
Rates of ovarian cancer have decreased in recent years but, according to the
Symptoms of ovarian cancer, which mainly develops in older women, can be mistaken for signs of other gynecological or gastrointestinal disorders, as they may include:
If ovarian cancer is detected early, treatment is usually effective, with some
New research led by Nagoya University in Japan has now identified three previously unknown membrane proteins in ovarian cancer, which can be isolated from body fluids, such as blood, urine, and saliva.
The authors of the study, which is published in Science Advances, suggest that these findings may lead to an earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Dr. Samuel Godfrey, research information lead at Cancer Research UK, not involved in this study, explained to Medical News Today what the research achieved:
“For this study, researchers explored whether tiny ‘bubbles’ that come from ovarian cancer cells could act as warning signals for the disease, and their results suggest this approach could be worth exploring…
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