Abstract

Background: It is clear that in developed countries more women die annually from ovarian cancer than from all other gynecologic malignancies combined. Objective: The aim of this article is to analyze current possibilities and propose adequate measures which can help the development of effective screening methods/assays for the early detection of epithelial ovarian cancer. Results and Discussion: This article updates the status of ovarian cancer screening and addresses most relevant studies published during the last five years. The developments that followed the review are best summarized in reference to the screening tests, target populations and newly published trials. The possible role of 3D ultrasound technology, especially 3D power Doppler imaging, in early and accurate detection of ovarian malignancy is discussed. We described our new ovarian cancer screening trial, which started in January 2001. Improvements in ultrasound technology such as 3D volume acquisition and 3D power Doppler imaging may have clinical utility in a more reliable identification of an abnormal ovarian vascularity and architecture. 3D volume acquisition allows for careful evaluation of the internal surfaces of cyst walls for excrescences otherwise not appreciated by 2D ultrasound. Conclusion: While the addition of 3D power Doppler provides a new tool for measuring the quality of ovarian tumor angiogenesis, improving accurate diagnosis of ovarian malignancies, its clinical value for the early detection of ovarian carcinoma has yet to be determined.

Key words: Ovarian cancer screening, 3D and 3D power Doppler ultrasound, stage I ovarian cancer.