A new study says that testing for symptoms like abdominal bloating, pain or feeling full soon after beginning to eat can help in detecting a fourth of the early-stage ovarian cancer cases. The study was published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer and was conducted by researchers which included those from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Ovarian cancer is a form of cancer which begins in the ovaries. The cancer cells multiply quickly and destroy the healthy tissues of the body. Ovarian cancer is usually seen among older women who are past menopause, however, it can happen to anyone. This cancer might not be detected for a very long time because it doesn’t cause any symptoms until it reaches advanced stages and has spread to other parts or organs of the body.

Researchers said that when women were diagnosed through this method of ‘symptom-triggered testing,’ complete removal of the cancer cells through surgery was possible in about 60 per cent of the cases. While previous evidence has suggested that ovarian cancer symptoms can start to show up anywhere between three months and three years before diagnosis, the researchers said that these symptoms are often vague, making early detection difficult.

For the study, the researchers analysed over 1,700 women, who underwent symptom-triggered testing. Seven per cent of the women or 119 of them were diagnosed with high-grade serous ovarian cancer which is the most common, aggressive and lethal form of the disease.

In most of these women, cancer did not hugely interfere with their daily lives which means they were either fully active or were able to do everything but strenuous activities, the researchers added. About 90 per cent of the 119 women (aged 32-89 years) were post-menopausal.

The participants were recruited from the ‘Refining Ovarian Cancer Test Accuracy Scores (ROCkeTS)’ study in the UK which aims to validate models designed to predict the risks of ovarian cancer among women showing symptoms.

The authors of the study wrote, “.”Our results demonstrate that one in four women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer diagnosed through (symptom-triggered testing) were diagnosed with early-stage disease -- stage I or II

They said that further, cancer cells were completely removed through surgery in 61 per cent of the 119 women (73). The authors wrote, “Our figures demonstrate that in a real-world setting, symptom-based testing can potentially lead to diagnosis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer with low disease spread and results in a high proportion of complete (removal of the cancer cells).”

The findings also suggest that complete surgical removal of cancer cells is possible even in advanced stages, which is when high-grade serous ovarian cancer usually tends to get diagnosed, provided the women showing suspicious symptoms are fast-tracked for further investigation and treatment, the study said.

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