Ovarian Cancer Risk Blood

Ovarian Cancer Risk

Blood Profile

Detect problems before they become troubles.

Ovarian Cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer related deaths among women worldwide. Ovarian Cancer is often detected at an advanced stage which generally results in poor survival rates, therefore early detection is key to improved survival.

What is Ovarian Cancer?

Ovarian cancer is a disease that can disrupt the normal function of the ovaries. If it’s left unchecked, it can affect other parts of the body too.

Ovarian cancer occurs when abnormal cells within the ovary start to multiply, creating a tumour. But it’s important to note that not all tumours are cancerous.

Non-cancerous tumours are called benign tumours. This means they don’t usually spread to other parts of the body. They may need treatment but they’re rarely life threatening.

Malignant ovarian tumours are cancerous and can be life threatening.

It’s important to catch cancers early because they can grow large enough to engulf most of the ovary and spread to other parts of the body too.

What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?

What out for these ovarian cancer symptoms:

Persistent stomach pain
Persistent bloating
Finding it difficult to eat or feeling full quickly
Needing to empty your bladder more often

Other symptoms you may notice include:

Back pain
Changes in your bowel habits (diarrhoea or constipation)
Feeling tired all the time

If your regularly experiencing these symptoms on most days it's important to talk to your GP as soon as possible.

To learn more about the symptoms of ovarian cancer you can downloadovarian cancer action leaflet.

What is included in this test?

The ovarian cancer risk is based on a blood test which looks at so called cancer markers or biomarkers in the blood which are produced by some ovarian cancer cells.

What Cancer markers are included?

The blood test measures CA125 & HE4.

Tradionally CA 125 marker test is the best known test for ovarian cancer diagnosis, and is the serum marker most widely used to monitor therapeutic response and to detect disease or disease recurrence in patients treated for epithelial ovarian cancer.

Elavated levels of CA125 may indicate you have ovarian cancer however CA125 isn't specific to ovarian cancer and it can be raised in conditions including endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease and pregnancy, so a raised CA125 level doesn't definitely mean you have ovarian cancer.

Recognised limitations have prompted the development of biomarkers with better sensitivity for early stage diagnosis, with the ability to differentiate women with ovarian cancer from those with benign ovarian conditions. CA 125 has a high false positive rate among women with benign gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease and pregnancy. It is well documented that approximatley 20% of ovarian cancers lack experssion of CA 125, and levels are not increased in nearly 40-50% of early stage ovarian cancers.

HE4 is a new marker for ovarian carcinoma, which is over-expresed in patients with ovarian cancers. When combined with CA 125, HE4 significantly increases the level of sensitivity for detection of ovarian cancer. HE4 is consistently expressed in patients with ovarian cancer and demonstrates an increased sensitivity and specificity over that of CA 125 alone.

A Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) classifies patients as being at low or high risk for malignant disease using both CA 125 and HE4 results and a woman's menopausal status. The risk is given as an adjunct to the two test results for CA 125 and HE4. ROMA calculates a risk of finding ovarian cancer during surgery. ROMA classifies patients as being at low or high risk for malignant disease.

HE4 is CE marked as an aid in estimating the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

What if I have abnormal results?

It is important to take your results to your regular healthcare provider for interpretation. Whilst high levels or abnormal results could mean you have ovarian cancer, this test is not definitive and elevated results could be signs of other problems such as endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease and pregnancy.

What is Included?

A Blood Profile Report including any measurements.

How do I Prepare for this Test?

No Specific Preperation is required.

What Does The Blood Test Involve?

This blood test is just like a standard blood test.

You will be asked to uncover you left or right arm and suitable vein is found. A tourniquet will be placed and tightened around your upper arm allowing the veins to swell and a needle will be placed into your vein. A small quantity of blood is then drawn into tubes. Once the procedure is complete a small plaster will be placed onto the site which can be removed after a few hours.

Note:

Blood results require interpretation. All results should be interpreted by your regular health care professional / GP.
We will require details of your GP / Health Care Professional, which may be requested prior to or at the time of the service.

Related Services

We offer a wide range of Health Checks for women as well as blood profiles, please feel free to have a look over the complete range and for a more comprehesive service take a look at the Ovarian Cancer Health Check - link below.