More than 70 percent of ovarian cancer cases are detected at an advanced stage, which causes a high mortality rate, which is why specialists recommend annual gynecological check-ups and evaluating genetic predisposition to anticipate them. According to the American Cancer Society, in fact, only 20 to 30 percent of ovarian cancer cases worldwide are detected early.
“If you look at it the other way around, 70 percent of women are diagnosed with advanced disease,” says Pablo Mandó, an oncologist at the Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research (Cemic).
The high percentage of late diagnoses is due in the first place to the fact that the symptoms of this tumor are not specific, but are related to abdominal discomfort, bloating, constipation, swelling and pelvic pain, which is why many people associate them with gastrointestinal discomfort. Less frequently, menstrual irregularities, dyspepsia (digestive problems) and fatigue appear.
Second, because the available imaging tools are not yet “efficient” in their ability to detect the disease, since they can check for a pelvic mass but not confirm that it is cancer.
“There is no diagnostic study that has proven to be useful and effective in generalizing to the entire population, unlike what happens with a mammogram,” Mandó said.
In this sense, he mentioned how complex the disease is, given that “ovarian tumors grow quickly and have an easy capacity to transform into an advanced stage, not allowing a transvaginal or abdominal ultrasound to modify the statistics we have.”
In turn, he emphasized that ovarian tumors “do not have pre-malignant or pre-invasive stages, as happens in breast or cervical cancer that have stages and that with very small surgeries can be controlled in time. ”.
Similarly, the oncologist explained that the marker test for the protein found in the blood called CA-125, which is used as a screening test for ovarian cancer, can be elevated by other conditions.
However, the specialist recalled that women who already have ovarian cancer undergo a genetic study to see if they have an alteration in the genes called BRCA1 or BRCA2 (responsible for most hereditary ovarian cancers).
“This study extends to the women of their family, which allows them to anticipate, and they can be offered an oophorectomy (surgical procedure to remove the ovaries), although for this it is necessary to take into account the age and if the person wants have children”, detailed the professional.
What happens is that this intervention has hormonal implications, changes in cardiovascular and bone health, he listed. According to data from the Global Cancer Observatory (Globocan), of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in Argentina there were 2,199 new cases of ovarian cancer in 2020, which is the second most frequent gynecological cancer in the country.
Santiago Bella, president of the Argentine Association of Clinical Oncology (Aaoc), agreed that cases are commonly detected in stage III, that is, “already advanced.”
“Unfortunately, it is the most frequent because, due to biological reasons, the ovarian tumor tends to quickly implant itself in the peritoneum, which is the membrane that covers the inside of the abdomen, therefore when one detects it, it is advanced and there the 5-year survival is 25 percent,” Bella pointed out.
However, five-year survival is greater than 90 percent and the long-term prognosis is very good if the disease is detected when it has not yet spread, according to the Argentine Association of Oncological Gynecology (Aago).
For this reason, the specialist in clinical oncology remarked that “gynecological check-ups should be done annually, and throughout the life of the woman from adolescence onwards, due to the fact that there are pathologies in the breast, the ovary, the uterus that are frequent diseases. that appear at different ages and that the gynecologist can see them early”.
With regard to risk factors, the Aago indicates that the most important is family history when there is a person in the first line of kinship with this disease (sister, mother, grandmother). In this case, the risk of suffering from it is more than doubled.
“There are between 15 and 20 percent of ovarian tumors that follow a family hereditary line. The corresponding genetic test can be done and once the woman completes her family programming, a preventive oophorectomy can be done, which is a simple surgical procedure where the ovaries are removed. But this has family, psychological and social work connotations, “Bella insisted.
Another of the factors mentioned by the association of gynecological oncology is age, since 65 percent of diagnosed women are over 50 years old. Any circumstance that decreases the number of ovulations reduces the risk of suffering it, such as pregnancy, breastfeeding and use of oral contraceptives, according to the Aago.
On May 8, it may be known, World Ovarian Cancer Day is celebrated, a date established by patient organizations with the purpose of raising awareness about this pathology.
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