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Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer via Biomarker Discovery in Uterine Lavage

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Originally published in The Prevent Cancer Foundation

In This Article

  • While there has been research done on a blood test for early detection of ovarian cancer, progress has been modest
  • Massachusetts General Hospital researchers recently received a two-year, $100,000 award from The Prevent Cancer Foundation to test whether a saltwater wash of the uterus improves detection when the disease is limited to the ovaries or tubes
  • If this approach is successful, the next step is to examine whether the test works in a "Pap smear" sample and, if so, whether the test reduces the detection of ovarian cancer in late disease

Massachusetts General Hospital researchers Steve Skates, PhD, and Amy Bregar, MD, were recently awarded a two-year, $100,000 grant by The Prevent Cancer Foundation for their work in early detection of ovarian cancer.

Dr. Skates, associate investigator at Mass General Biostatistics, and Dr. Bregar, acting interim chief of Gynecologic Oncology, will seek to develop a test in a saltwater wash of the uterus to detect chemicals that are biomarkers for ovarian cancer. The hope is that this test will detect more ovarian cancers in their earliest and most curable stages.

If this approach is successful, the next stage will be to examine whether the test works in a "Pap smear" sample and, if so, whether the test reduces the detection of ovarian cancer in late disease.

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