Screening High-Risk Women for Ovarian Cancer

Patient Population

Women who are at high risk for developing ovarian cancer.

The definition for high risk is adapted from the American Society of Clinical Oncology definition of risk for ovarian cancer. Women at high risk of ovarian cancer have at least one of the following:

• First-degree relative diagnosed with ovarian cancer before age 40.
• First-degree relative diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer (one cancer diagnosis before age 50).
• Two or more first- and second-degree relatives (of same lineage) with ovarian cancer. 
• Two or more first- and second-degree relatives (of same lineage) with breast cancer and one relative with ovarian cancer.
• One first- or second-degree relative with breast cancer before age 40 and one first- or second-degree relative with ovarian cancer before age 50 (of same lineage). 
• Two or more first-and second-degree relatives (of same lineage) diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50. 
• Two or more first- and second-degree relatives (of same lineage) diagnosed with breast cancer, one before age 40.

Research Question(s)

Is there a role for screening women who are at high risk for developing ovarian cancer?

The outcome of interest was the performance of screening tests assessed in terms of predictive values, sensitivity and specificity, stage of screen-detected disease at diagnosis, and survival.