OvPlex (UK) New blood test to detect ovarian cancer could save thousands

New blood test to detect ovarian cancer could save thousands

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:55 AM on 25th August 2009

A blood test that could save thousands of women's lives by detecting ovarian cancer at an early stage is to be launched in Britain.

The test, called OvPlex, is expected to be available for doctors to use by the end of the year.

It works by analysing just a few drops of blood to look for signs of five different chemicals released by tumour cells as they grow.

Tests show that when all five are detectable in the blood, there is a very good chance cancerous cells are forming on the ovaries.

Outside Australia, where the test was developed, Britain and Ireland are the first countries where it will be used to spot signs of cancer at a much earlier stage than doctors can do now.

More than 6,000 women a year in the UK are diagnosed with cancer of the ovaries and the annual death toll is around 4,500.

The disease accounts for about 5 per cent of cancer deaths in women. It is sometimes known as a 'silent killer' because, for many victims, symptoms only appear once it is already fairly advanced.

The tumours tend to grow slowly and research shows it can take an average of five years before a woman notices any symptoms and seeks medical help.

But the OvPlex test could catch cancers while they are still very small and have not spread.

If the disease is picked up early, 80 per cent of sufferers will still be alive after five years.

The main risk factors include a family history of the disease, having already had breast cancer and starting periods at a young age.

'Given the advantages of early detection of ovarian cancer, OvPlex may save many thousands of lives,' said Nick Gatsios, of HealthLinx, the Melbourne-based firm that developed it.

Dr Sarah Blagden, from the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre at Imperial College, London, said the OvPlex test looks 'very promising'.