Buys and colleagues [1] have recently reported the results of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Randomized Controlled Trial aimed at assessing the effect of screening for ovarian cancer on mortality. The studied population included 78,216 women aged 55–74 years who underwent either annual screening ([i]n[/i] = 39,105) or conventional care ([i]n[/i] = 39,111) at ten American centers between November 1993 and July 2001. The intervention group received annual screening with cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) measurements for 6 years and transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) for 4 years. The control group did not receive these screening measures. Median follow-up was 12.4 years analyzing for cancer diagnoses and death. Ovarian cancer rates were 5.7 and 4.7 per 10,000 person-years in the intervention group and control group, respectively. Ovarian cancer mortality rates were 3.1 and 2.6 per 10,000 person-years in the intervention group and control group, respectively. The authors concluded that the used screening protocol did not reduce ovarian cancer mortality as compared to conventional care (no TVU and CA-125 measurement).
Author(s)
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Faustino R. Prez-Lpez
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain -
Peter Chedraui
Institute of Biomedicine, Universidad Catlica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador
