Ovarian cancer screening: yes or no?
In the United States, unnecessary medical tests and procedures are so common that they’re, well, a trillion, billion dimes a dozen! The Lown Institute says that up to $800 BILLION a year is wasted on overuse of medical care, meaning medical tests, treatments and other services that patients don’t need or want. It’s estimated that unnecessary tests alone rack up $200 billion annually.
So what should you make of the recent recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that says screening for ovarian cancer is not a good idea for most women without a high risk of developing the disease, since getting screened doesn’t decrease the risk of dying from that cancer?
Screening involves a blood test to check for the CA-125 antibody and a transvaginal ultrasound. The USPSTF evidence report found that 1 percent of women who had the CA-125 test underwent ovarian cancer surgery that they did not need. And 3 percent of women who
had the transvaginal ultrasound test (with or without also getting the CA-125 test) were mistakenly subjected to surgery for ovarian cancer. Major complications occurred in 3 to 15 percent of women who had those unnecessary surgeries. On the other hand, we know that only about 20 percent of cases of ovarian cancer are caught in the early stages, when the five year survival rate is 94 percent.
USPSTF says screening has no benefit for asymptomatic women at average risk.