Screening of ovarian cancer has been shown to be ineffectual. The UKCTOCS trial over 15 years, which had more than 200,000 participants proved that there was no benefit in terms of long-term survival for women who received comprehensive ovarian cancer screening when compared to women who did not.
This review of the data looked at the staging for those women who developed ovarian cancer either during the trial or in the 9 years since the trial finished. Of the participants 0.5% had ovarian cancer, the incidence is the same in the screened and non-screened group.
A significant difference is noted in the staging of the cancers detected, with fewer women from the screened group presenting with advanced (III-IV stage) ovarian cancer. Survival after diagnosis with advanced disease was longer for those women who had been screened.
Screening does detect advanced disease sooner, and women who have been screened are less likely to have advanced stage ovarian cancer. Maybe the criteria for success need to change?
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