--- title: Ovarian Cancer Screening May Be on Horizon description: There is no reliable way to detect ovarian cancer. But a new test—a CA125 screening algorithm—may change that canonical: https://time.com/4152550/ovarian-cancer-screening/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-17T15:32:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:48.977Z article:section: Health og:title: It May Soon Be Possible to Screen for Ovarian Cancer og:description: There is no reliable way to detect ovarian cancer. But a new test—a CA125 screening algorithm—may change that og:url: https://time.com/4152550/ovarian-cancer-screening/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: It May Soon Be Possible to Screen for Ovarian Cancer twitter:description: There is no reliable way to detect ovarian cancer. But a new test—a CA125 screening algorithm—may change that twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # It May Soon Be Possible to Screen for Ovarian Cancer > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=18c056cc-9770-440b-a96c-d08c180ee75e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Choosing to Wait: A New Approach to Treating Breast Cancer at Its Earliest Stages [Watch (HLS stream): Choosing to Wait: A New Approach to Treating Breast Cancer at Its Earliest Stages](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qPQnIqEX.m3u8) (5:56)  _Published 2015-10-01. Colletti, 60, was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), also known as Stage 0 breast cancer, in April 2014. But rather than immediately having surgery, Colletti opted for a new form of alternative treatment: active surveillance._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Dec 17, 2015 3:32 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Dec 17, 2015 3:32 PM UTC Ovarian cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S., but unlike with breast cancer, there is no mammogram equivalent that can seek out early lesions before they become difficult to treat. A blood test, called CA125, can pick up signs of tumors in the ovaries, but it’s not very specific or sensitive for these growths. CA125 levels can rise not just because of ovarian tumors but during menstruation and pregnancy as well. That may explain why the test only picks up 60% to 65% of cancers. **MORE:** [Removing Ovaries During Breast Cancer Could Save Lives, New Research Says](http://time.com/3833125/breast-cancer-brca1/) But scientists [report in _The Lancet_](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2815%2901224-6/abstract) that there may be a way to pick up early ovarian tumors and potentially save lives. Ian Jacobs, president and vice chancellor of the University of New South Wales, and his colleagues conducted the largest study to date on an innovative way to use CA125 testing to screen women for ovarian cancer. Jacobs created an algorithm that incorporated several CA125 readings over time, with a woman’s age, to tighten the blood test’s connection to ovarian cancer risk. A single CA125 reading may not be helpful, he notes, since women may have varying baseline levels of the substance. Even if the cutoff for possible ovarian cancer is any result above 35microns/ml, for example, some women may simply have higher circulating CA125 and not have cancer. But if several readings over a few years show that the CA125 is increasing rapidly, that’s a signal that a tumor could be growing. **MORE:** [BRCA Gene Can Be A Cancer Triple Whammy, Study Finds](http://time.com/2810864/brca-gene-can-be-a-cancer-triple-whammy-study-finds/) Jacobs randomly assigned more than 202,000 women to get either no screening, only ultrasound screening or a combination of CA125 using the algorithm every year for an average of 11 years. He wanted to test whether the CA125 test along with its algorithm could be an effective way to screen women for ovarian cancer, so after a follow up of about 14 years, he compared these three groups of women on whether they had developed ovarian cancer or not, and whether they had died from the disease. Overall, the women who received the CA125 screening with the algorithm lowered their risk of dying from ovarian cancer by 15%, while those who relied only on ultrasound reduced their risk of dying by 11%. That wasn’t a statistically significant difference, but when the researchers adjusted those results for the effect from women who might have already had ovarian cancer before starting the study but didn’t know it, the reduction was even more dramatic for women screened with CA125: 28%. “The exciting thing about this paper is that it’s the first evidence that suggests if you catch the cancer early enough, perhaps it can save lives,” says Jacobs. **MORE:** [Ovarian Tissue Transplants Help Women Have Children After Cancer, Study Shows](http://time.com/4064934/ovarian-tissue-transplants/) Dr. Karen Lu, chair of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, welcomes the results. “I’m tired of seeing women come to me with late-stage disease,” says Lu, who was not involved in the study but has conducted trials on using annual CA125 and other markers to screen for ovarian cancer. “It’s devastating. About 70% of the time, if not more, we see women come to us with very advanced stage disease. What this study clearly shows is that with the CA125 test and the algorithm, we are detecting cancers at an earlier stage. And we’re seeing fewer deaths in women who get the screening. We’ve never had a study before that showed that early detection \[of ovarian cancer\] can save lives.” Lu points out, however, that the data on CA125 screening and lower deaths from ovarian cancer is still preliminary, and that longer follow-up of the women, which Jacobs is doing, will be needed to solidify the survival benefit. Still, the findings represent a rare glimmer of optimism in diagnosing and treating a cancer that usually has poor prognosis. If the results are confirmed, then additional studies will have to be performed to determine which women should be getting screened. The target population may be as wide as all post-menopausal women, says Lu. (Women who have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations that put them at higher risk of both breast and ovarian cancers wouldn’t likely need the screening, since they already know they are at high risk.) As with mammography, the costs of screening, including the false positives that result in additional testing and procedures, need to be weighed against the benefits in detecting cancer earlier. If the CA125 does become part of the cancer screening regimen, then women would get the blood test on an annual basis, and if their levels are rising, they would get an ultrasound to see if there are any abnormal growths in the ovaries. If the ultrasound finds lesions, then she could get surgery to remove them and significantly lower her risk of dying from the disease. Jacobs is currently working with a company to develop the CA125 algorithm into a commercial test. He sees this study as “a key step in the jigsaw \[puzzle\] that is about 85% assembled now,” he says. “It is a paradigm shift in showing that you can actually intervene by screening and change the natural history of the disease and likely save lives.” But even he acknowledges that it may be a while before the test becomes part of national screening recommendations like the mammogram. “We need longer follow up,” he says. “But we are not that far away.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] One of the best things about my job is that I see patients who have a potentially lethal diagnosis and I'm able to be part of what allows them to be cured of their disease. The flip side is that one of the least rewarding experiences I have Of. And when I see a patient who is so fearful and so not at peace with her own body that she feels that she has to do extraordinary things to be free of her anxiety of breast cancer. [ MUSIC ] My daughter's initial reaction was, [ MUSIC ] Mom, if it was me I'd take it out. You just get rid of it. My husband and I did a ton of research, and we reviewed studies, and all the information out there, and decided that really we don't have to have surgery. That it's not life- threatening, and I'll probably die from something else. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] So if you would If you felt a nodule or [ INAUDIBLE ] I'm fortunate to be on the early side of things where most of the patients I see have very early, very treatable problems and I think that's how I got interested in DCIS, because of all the so- called cancers that we diagnose now, DCIS is the very earliest form. [ MUSIC ] Active surveillance is very new. And for many people, both on the physician's side and the patient's side, it's a scary proposition. I'm certainly not condoning it for everyone. I'm not recommending that everyone with DCIS follow a path of active surveillance. But I think it should be considered in the context of all the options that patients have. All of us have different comfort levels of how far we're willing to go to be sure we don't die of this and that other disease. But we all die of something. And we can't prevent everything. [ MUSIC ] So in April of 2014 I was diagnosed with DCIS. When they gave me the diagnosis I initially felt a lot of dread, got sick to my stomach and just thought oh no so what is this going to lead to. My daughter's initial reaction was, mom, if it was me, I'd take it out. And that was initially how she felt until we discussed it. And when we talked about the risks of surgery and radiation treatments, and some of the things that can happen with that, and the fact that these are pre- cancerous cells that may just sit there and never do anything. She came around. So, DCIS stands for ductal carcinoma in situ. And the in situ part is that the cells, the abnormal cells are contained within the ducts of the breast Once the cells break out of the ducts its called an invasive cancer, and those are the cancers that can spread to the lymph nodes and can spread to other parts of the body and eventually cause mortality. [ SOUND ] There have been a couple of very important studies that have been published lately which have shown that for the very low risk DCIS Whether you ever operate on them, whether you do a lumpectomy or whether you do a mastectomy, the patients are equally likely to not die of breast cancer. So removing both your breasts at that phase really doesn't help a woman to live longer. And I feel that for some of those patients They see mastectomy as being a way to rid themselves of anxiety. And that makes me sad. I think there are much better ways to reduce anxiety than to do a pretty major operation after which you're never really going to be the same. And the side effects that patients have in terms of discomfort with themselves. Never feeling like they're whole again. A lot of the work that I do in clinic is being with patients at probably one of the most vulnerable and scary times of their lives. And to be part of that process and to see patients through that is incredibly rewarding. The initial fear that you have I think is just because you don't know what's going to happen, but you know if you read the studies And you look at the information out there, I don't feel afraid at all. I feel great about my decision. If options were given to women, more women would choose active surveillance, but because there's no options out there, people don't know to even ask. Ask. 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