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Molecular signal in blood helps detect early risk for ovarian cancer, study finds

By · Via The Guardian Science · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The noninvasive method screens for serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma by measuring elevated blood concentrations of an RNA molecule named Tu-Stroma. In trials, the marker successfully identified precancerous fallopian tube lesions in 92.3% of affected women while maintaining a 98.2% accuracy rate among healthy individuals. Negative test results proved accurate nearly 100% of the time for patients carrying genetic risk factors. These findings could ultimately spare high-risk patients from unnecessary surgeries by confirming whether precancerous tissue is actually present.

Key points

  • Detecting serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma allows clinicians to address ovarian can…: Detecting serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma allows clinicians to address ovarian cancer before it develops and spreads.
  • For individuals with genetic risk factors, negative test results proved accurate nearly 1…: For individuals with genetic risk factors, negative test results proved accurate nearly 100% of the time.
  • Physical evidence from this blood marker could soon guide preventive surgical decisions t…: Physical evidence from this blood marker could soon guide preventive surgical decisions that currently rely solely on inherited risk.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

A molecular signal in the blood helps identify microscopic changes that precede development of ovarian cancer, researchers have found, a potential diagnostic breakthrough for a disease often discovered after it has already spread.

For decades, efforts to detect ovarian cancer earlier have focused on finding smaller tumors, the researchers noted in their report published on Tuesday in Nature Medicine.

“We asked a fundamentally different question: What if we could identify the earliest molecular warning signs before invasive cancer even develops?” study leader Rajan Gogna of the Hoag Family Cancer Institute in Newport Beach, California, said in a statement.

Ovarian cancer often begins with microscopic changes in the lining of the fallopian tubes. The precancerous lesions are known as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma.

The new study found that women with this precursor condition have elevated blood levels of an RNA molecule called Tu-Stroma.

When researchers measured Tu-Stroma in blood, they detected STIC in 92.3% of affected women and correctly identified 98.2% of healthy women.

In women with genetic risk factors for ovarian cancer, approximately 72% of positive results would be accurate,…

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