Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

University of Alabama at Birmingham: Center for Health Promotion

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: University of Texas Prevention Research Center

Topics:
Cancer

Early detection of ovarian cancer is often critical to improving a patient’s chance of survival. Researchers identified early symptoms of ovarian cancer and explored patterns of medical care from the beginning of symptoms to diagnosis. They then reviewed medical guidelines and publications on the detection and diagnosis of ovarian cancer and used these guidelines to help create questions for interviews with more than 440 women with ovarian cancer. The interviewers identified the frequency, intensity, and type of clinical symptoms that the patient had when first seeking care; the number of medical visits she made, and the type of diagnostic procedures she underwent before diagnosis; the type of care providers (primary and referral physicians) that the patient consulted, and the number and type of referrals that she received. The patient’s social and demographic characteristics and her type of medical insurance were also collected. The researchers assessed the relationship between these variables and the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

 

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