Triaging suspicious adnexal masses: should I be worried about ovarian cancer, and can biomarkers help?

Current clinical methods used to identify epithelial ovarian cancer are often too late – when the cancer is at an advanced stage, leaving the patient with limited therapeutic options. Diagnosis is often hindered by a lack of routine screening, nonspecific symptoms, and the low specificity of imaging methods, all of which can have a heavy impact on prognosis while increasing the burden on patients and health system resources.

 

Clinically, protein biomarkers for ovarian cancer such as CA 125 and HE4 are routinely used by HCPs to provide insights on tracking treatment response and supporting the monitoring of disease progression or recurrence. Less appreciated is the ability of algorithms such as The Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) to help risk stratify patients presenting with an adnexal mass, thus providing clinicians with clearer patient management options.

 

This presentation will highlight three different clinical viewpoints (from a large academic medical center to a rural clinic) on how diagnostic tools can help improve diagnosis and management of epithelial ovarian cancer and potentially impact the patient journey.

 

Learning Objectives