Screening Test for Ovarian Cancer Introduced to Market
The new OvaSure test was recently launched by Laboratory Holdings Corporation of America (LabCorp). The test assesses patients for the presence of ovarian cancer during earlier stages of disease and is indicated for use in patients who are high risk for the difficult to diagnose malignancy.
Data collected from a trial at Yale University School of Medicine validates the utility of the screening test. Testing was completed in a group of high risk women and compared to a second group of women deemed average risk. Findings from the OvaSure test were compared to those obtained with six ovarian cancer biomarkers.
Findings from the test effectively discriminated between the two groups of women. The test had high levels of specificity, 99.4 percent, and sensitivity, 95.3 percent. Similar findings have previously been published by Yale University.
Ovarian cancer is most often diagnosed when disease is already advanced, most often when metastases have developed. In addition, this malignancy is very difficult to treat. The advantage of this screening test is the opportunity to diagnose patients at an early stage of disease, which offers significant improvements with respect to survival.
June 23, 2008 Related topics: New Technology & Innovation, Diagnostic, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Neonatology