Ovarian Cancer Research

CDC's ongoing studies related to ovarian cancer include:

• Risk perception, worry, and use of ovarian cancer screening among women at average, elevated, and high risk of ovarian cancer. To examine the determinants of perceived risk and the influence of these determinants on screening behaviors, CDC is conducting a study of approximately 2,000 women at average-, elevated-, and high-risk, who will be selected randomly from enrollees in a managed care organization with a racially diverse population.



• Clinical practice in the follow-up of ovarian masses. This study will search for findings that clinicians could use to differentiate more effectively between women with potentially malignant masses who require immediate surgery and women with benign abnormalities. Set in a managed care organization, the study will investigate the symptoms or other conditions that lead to a diagnosis of an ovarian mass, the radiologic characteristics of masses most likely to be malignant, and the diagnostic pathways commonly followed.



• General practitioners' awareness and adherence to ovarian cancer screening guidelines. This study aims to evaluate physicians' self-reported ovarian cancer screening and testing practices and determine physician awareness of the published guidelines regarding the lack of evidence for routine ovarian cancer screening. The study also assesses physicians' adherence to published guidelines on ovarian cancer screening among a nationally representative sample of practicing primary care physicians and gynecologists.



• Volume of ovarian cancer surgery cases by physician and hospital using state hospital discharge data. This study is one of two efforts focused on investigating the patterns of primary surgical care for ovarian cancer.



• Frequency of symptoms in women 65 years and older with ovarian cancer as compared to a matched cohort of cancer-free women. Symptoms which have been identified previously among ovarian cancer patients have been considered non-specific; however, this analysis will allow a comparison of the frequencies of such symptoms in ovarian cancer cases when compared to the general population of women in the same age group.



• Diagnostic care referral patterns for women with ovarian cancer. Because the impact of specialty training on the earlier evaluation or diagnosis of ovarian cancer symptoms is unclear, CDC is assessing whether women are diagnosed earlier because they have certain symptoms, or because they are more likely to see a gynecologist or other specialist who may be more likely to consider ovarian cancer in the differential diagnosis.



• Relationship between recorded symptoms, time to diagnosis, and ovarian cancer histology: Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Medicare, 1995–2002. The purpose of this analysis is to explore whether previous findings regarding the prevalence, type, and duration of symptoms among women with early-stage disease holds true for all histological types. Since 5-year relative survival and stage of diagnosis vary by histological type of ovarian cancer, investigating the relationship between specific ovarian cancer histology, reported symptoms, and time to diagnosis will provide information about the potential benefits of earlier detection through better recognition and follow-up of symptoms.



• Patterns of diagnostic care among women being surgically evaluated for ovarian cancer. This study uses data from the SEER program and Medicare claims. Linking these two data sources results in a unique population-based source of information that can be used for an array of epidemiologic and health-services research. This study includes data from 1995 to 2000 for women aged 65 or older who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Additionally, through its National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP), CDC funds ovarian cancer-related projects in several states. These projects are working to develop ovarian cancer health messages for the general public and for health care providers.

Published Research

• "Temporal patterns of conditions and symptoms potentially associated with ovarian cancer" in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Women's Health compares the common symptoms and procedures reported by women with ovarian cancer during the nine months before diagnosis, to the same symptoms and procedures among women who did not have ovarian cancer. The study data were derived from the MarketScan database, which annually includes inpatient, outpatient, ancillary, and prescription drug claims for approximately three million people with private, employer-based health insurance, or Medicare and commercial supplemental coverage.



• "Complications at the end of life in ovarian cancer" in the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management describes end-of-life care and factors that may be associated with care for women who died of ovarian cancer within three managed care organizations.



• "Symptoms, diagnoses, and time to key diagnostic procedures among older U.S. women with ovarian cancer" in the May 2007 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology reports that women with ovarian cancer presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms were more likely to have later-stage disease and longer time to key diagnostic tests than those with gynecologic symptoms.



• "Ovarian cancer: patterns of surgical care across the United States" in the November 2006 issue of Gynecologic Oncology examines the primary surgical procedures and procedures for intraoperative and postoperative complications, and factors associated with these procedures, in women with ovarian cancer. Study findings indicate that a significant percentage of women with ovarian cancer did not receive recommended surgical procedures.