TRIP

Ovarian cancer screening popular despite guidelines

Reuters Health News, 2012

Thu, Feb 2 2012 Thu, Feb 2 2012 Wed, Feb 1 2012 Mon, Jan 30 2012 Tue, Jan 24 2012
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite expert guidelines and scientific evidence to the contrary, a third of U.S.
primary care physicians believe ovarian cancer screening is effective and many would offer it to patients, according to a new survey.
Although the results don't necessarily translate into real practice, that means more than a million women might be offered the tests, which come with a hefty price tag and possible hazards, researchers say.
"Currently the evidence suggests that the harms of ovarian cancer screening exceed the benefits," said Dr.
"That's why it is not being recommended." Baldwin and her colleagues surveyed more than 1,000 doctors across the country, asking them questions about a hypothetical case of a woman presenting for her annual exam.
That covers about 95 percent of American women, for whom guidelines unanimously advise against screening.
Still, 65 percent of doctors said they "sometimes" or "almost always" offered or ordered ovarian cancer screening for women at medium risk.
Although these tests have never been shown to save lives, a third of doctors in the survey nonetheless believed they work.
"There are some critical knowledge gaps related to ovarian cancer screening among physicians," said Baldwin, whose findings are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
"I would suggest that women educate themselves about the risks and the benefits of the tests." HARM BUT NO BENEFIT According to the largest clinical trial published so far -- known as the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian, or PLCO, trial -- women screened annually for ovarian cancer were just as likely to die from the disease as those who didn't have regular screening.