Cancer Current Topics in Cancer

Cancer Groups Identify Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

(iVillage Total Health) - Women and gynecologists now have a set of symptoms to watch for and aid in early detection of the most deadly female reproductive system cancer. National cancer experts have announced their consensus on the most common signs of ovarian cancer. They include:

• Bloating


• Pelvic or abdominal pain


• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly


• Frequent urination

Women who experience these symptoms almost daily for more than two weeks are urged to see their gynecologist for a physical and pelvic examination.

Ovarian cancer is an overgrowth of malignant, abnormal cells in one or both of a woman's ovaries—the female reproductive organs that produce eggs and hormones (estrogen and progesterone). According to American Cancer Society (ACS) statistics, ovarian cancer is the most deadly of the women's reproductive system cancers. More than 22,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with the disease in 2007 and more than 15,000 are likely to die from it.

Ovarian cancer has long been referred to as the "silent killer" because symptoms are often difficult to detect. Early ovarian cancers tend to cause relatively vague symptoms or no symptoms at all. There are no screening tests for the majority of ovarian cancers. When the cancers are finally diagnosed, it is often too late and the cancer has spread to other organs.

"This agreement on common symptoms of ovarian cancer hopefully will lead to earlier diagnosis when a cure is more likely," Dr. Barbara Goff, a gynecologic oncologist, said in a press release. Goff conducted studies that identified the symptoms most likely to affect women with ovarian cancer. "We know that when women are diagnosed in Stage I [the earliest stage] of the disease, it is 90 percent curable. Unfortunately, until now there has been no agreement on common symptoms, allowing women to go undiagnosed, despite visits to the doctor, until it was too late." According to the ACS, less than 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in Stage I.

The new symptom guidelines were developed by the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the ACS. The GCF conducted a national poll on the best and most effective methods of disseminating information to women about the new guidelines. They said 65 percent of women said they do not know enough about ovarian cancer but they felt it was important to know the symptoms. More than 90 percent of the women polled said they get the most helpful health care information from friends or family members or their personal experience with diseases. Many also said they learn from ads sponsored by advocacy groups, brochures in doctors' offices and on the Internet.

GCF chairman Dr. Karl C. Podratz said in a press release: "At GCF, we say that where there is knowledge, there is hope, and the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer gives women hope for a cure."

The new recommendations are scheduled to be announced formally on June 25.

Copyright 2007 iVillage Total Health.