Identifying Early Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer to Increase Survival Rates

University of Oklahoma: Native American Prevention Research Center

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

Topics:
Cancer

Early symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and overlooked, which may cause women and physicians to delay diagnosis and treatment. Researchers are gathering information from over 2,000 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The women are answering questions about the types and frequency of symptoms they had before diagnosis, which symptoms caused them to seek medical care, the number of health care resources or providers they visited before diagnosis, how long symptoms were present before they sought medical care, and additional factors that supported or hindered their seeking care. Physicians are also being surveyed about which reported symptoms prompt them to perform diagnostic tests and which treatments they recommend. Researchers will identify interventions to increase women’s and physicians’ awareness of, knowledge about, and response to symptoms suggestive of ovarian cancer, and will develop a self-assessment tool to help women and their physicians identify early symptoms.

 

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