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Spotting the symptoms of ovarian cancer

By Lila Havens, Staff Writer, myOptumHealth

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Ovarian cancer is the most deadly cancer of the female reproductive system. It was long thought to be a "silent" killer. Experts believed it caused symptoms only after the disease had progressed and cure was unlikely.

In the past decade, though, cancer scientists have found that ovarian cancer often does cause symptoms, even in the early stages. They hope that alerting women to possible symptoms may help reduce deaths from ovarian cancer.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer

The four most common symptoms are:

• Bloating
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• Urgent or frequent need to urinate

Call your gynecologist or family doctor if you have these symptoms and they:

• Are a change from what is normal for you
• Occur almost every day
• Last for more than a couple of weeks

It is important to understand that these symptoms are not specific to ovarian cancer. They have many possible causes, most of them benign. They are much more likely to be caused by a condition such as a bladder infection or irritable bowel syndrome.

Women who have ovarian cancer often report other symptoms, too, such as fatigue, upset stomach, back pain and menstrual changes. But these symptoms are even less likely to be related to ovarian cancer than the most common symptoms.

After symptoms: next steps

If you have these symptoms, get them checked out. Your doctor may do a number of tests to look for the cause of your symptoms, including:

• Physical exam, including a pelvic exam to check the size and shape of your uterus and ovaries
• Blood tests to check for anemia and assess liver and kidney function
• Imaging tests, such as transvaginal ultrasound or CT scan to look for a mass in the pelvic area

The doctor will also take a careful family medical history. Ovarian cancer is rare in the general population. The average woman's lifetime risk is only about 1.4 percent. (That means it affects about one in 70 women.) The risk rises sharply in women who have multiple cases of ovarian or breast cancer in their family.

If your family history suggests a high risk of ovarian cancer, it's a good idea to see a gynecologic oncologist. This is a doctor who specializes in cancers of the female reproductive system. This doctor can help you understand your risk and decide if you should have genetic testing.

Can symptoms help with early detection?

Cancer scientists are searching for ways to improve survival from ovarian cancer. One key is to catch it early, before cancer spreads from the ovaries to other tissues. About 94 percent of women diagnosed before it spreads survive five years or longer.

At present, though, only about 20 percent of ovarian cancers are found early. There simply are no excellent screening tests that can reliably pinpoint ovarian cancer in its earliest stage.

Experts are not sure that drawing attention to symptoms will make a difference in the death rate. But until we have better tests that can find this cancer early, raising women's awareness of symptoms seems to hold some hope for saving lives.

View the original Spotting the symptoms of ovarian cancer article on myOptumHealth.com 

SOURCES:

• National Cancer Institute. BRCA1 and BRCA2: cancer risk and genetic testing. Accessed: 11/12/2009

• Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, American Cancer Society. Ovarian cancer symptoms consensus statement. 2007. Accessed: 02/23/2010

• Gynecologic Cancer Foundation. Symptoms of ovarian cancer. Accessed: 02/23/2010

• Rossing MA, Wicklund KG, Cushing-Haugen KL, Weiss NS. Predictive value of symptoms for early detection of ovarian cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2010;102(4):236-243.

• American Cancer Society. Detailed guide: ovarian cancer. Accessed: 02/23/2010