Women have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with the general population when they have:
- A strong family history of ovarian (and sometimes breast or bowel) cancer and/or
- An inherited gene change (gene mutation) associated with an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
If you are at higher risk you can be referred to a family cancer clinic. They will counsel you about your risk and discuss possible ways to manage it.
Ovarian screening
The aim of ovarian screening is to detect cancer at an early stage if it occurs. However, we still don’t know if screening is effective at detecting ovarian cancer early. So, it is only available as part of a research trial.
A large research study (UKFOCSS) is looking into whether screening for ovarian cancer is helpful for women who have a higher than average risk. The study involves regular blood tests and ultrasounds of the ovaries.
One of the problems with ovarian cancer screening is that it can produce ‘false positives’. A false positive means that a healthy person has a test result that wrongly suggests they have cancer. Because the test result is abnormal further tests to check for ovarian cancer are needed. These tests may involve surgery and can carry risks. So ovarian screening might expose you to risks even though there is nothing wrong with your ovaries.
If you are considering taking part in the UKFOCSS trial, because you have a strong family history of ovarian cancer, you can find more about ovarian cancer and about taking part in clinical trials on our website.
For some women, an alternative to ovarian screening is surgery to remove the ovaries. This is called risk reducing oophorectomy.