AGES ASM/ISGE 15 Ovarian cancer screening, current status and future challenges (1491)
Ovarian cancer is a common cause of death from malignancy in women. There is no established screening test available for the detection of early stage ovarian cancer. Even in high risk groups such as BRCA gene mutation groups and patients with mismatch repair gene defects, there is no evidence that screening has allowed the earlier detection or improved survival rates from ovarian malignancy. Efforts at defining ultrasound features of malignancy are of course highly valuable in triaging patients for appropriate surgical approaches in those identified with adnexal abnormalities. Many examples of algorithms designed to determine the safest surgical approach have been constructed, and some of these will be explored. The use of minimal access surgery for removal of suspicious lesions requires the clinician to be able to readily identify high risk lesions, and decide which patients should be afforded minimal access surgery versus those requiring midline laparotomy. A discussion of these concepts will be presented.
