Study backs ultrasound to judge ovarian malignancy

Study backs ultrasound to judge ovarian malignancy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Using ultrasound images may be abetter way than blood tests to determine whether a woman'sovarian tumor is benign or malignant, European researchers saidon Tuesday.
Higher levels of a so-called tumor marker protein calledCA-125 in the blood is considered the standard way to judge ifan ovarian tumor is benign or malignant, but this methodsometimes can yield wrong answers, the researchers said.
Researchers led by Dr. Dirk Timmerman of KatholiekeUniversiteit Leuven in Belgium tested whether ultrasoundassessment of the tumor by an experienced examiner was a bettermethod. Ultrasound employs high-frequency sound waves to createimages of things inside the body.
In the study, 1,066 women with ovarian tumors were given anultrasound examination. Of these women, 809 provided bloodsamples before surgery to remove the ovarian tumors to beanalyzed for CA-125, which is overproduced by ovarian tumorcells.
The ultrasound examiners accurately gauged 93 percent ofthe tumors as either benign or malignant using a method calledpattern recognition, according to the study. The blood testsmeasuring CA-125 levels, in comparison, accurately determinedthe nature of 83 percent of the tumors, the researchers said.
"In light of our results, it is difficult to understand whymeasurement of CA-125 serum levels is such an entrenched partof the preoperative evaluation" of such tumors, they wrote inthe Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The researchers noted that the accuracy of the ultrasoundmethod depends on the experience of the examiner.
"We hope our results will encourage responsible parties toexpend more effort and more resources to educate and trainthose who perform gynecologic ultrasound examinations, so thatthe potential of the ultrasound technique can be maximized,"they wrote.
Ovarian cancer is more common in women after age 50 but isvery difficult to detect early. Women with ovarian cancer oftenhave no symptoms or mild ones until it is in an advanced stageand tough to treat.
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 15,000women will die from ovarian cancer in the United States alonethis year, with 22,000 new cases seen. Worldwide there are morethan 190,000 new cases of ovarian cancer each year, accordingto the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and Eric Beech)