Ovarian Cancer Actually Is Not a Silent Killer
Ovarian cancer is the most deadly of gynecologic tumors. Fewer than 40 percent of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer are cured, and approximately 12,810 people in the U.S. die from the disease every year.
For the past 25 years, scientists have tried to identify a screening test to detect ovarian cancer in its earliest stages, when the chance of cure is high. Unfortunately, multiple clinical trials with hundreds of thousands of participants have failed to identify an effective way to screen for ovarian cancer. In fact, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gave ovarian cancer screening a grade of D in 2018, meaning it recommends against periodic screening because it doesn’t improve survival and can prove harmful to patients.
Because no effective screening test currently exists, 70 percent of people with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages, when chances of cure are poor. Around 60 percent to 90 percent of people with stage one or two cancer that stays around the ovaries and pelvis are disease-free five years after diagnosis, compared with only 10 percent to 40 percent of those with stage three or four cancer that has spread through the abdomen and beyond.