Ovarian: Ovarina cancer is the fith leading cause of cancer death among US women and has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers. Some 24,000 new cases are estimated in the US each year according to the American Cancer Society. Due to lack of effective screening tools and therapy, the mortality of ovarian cancer has not declined in the past two decades. Most cases are diagnosed at an advanced state with survival rates of only 19-30%. If diagnosed at an early stage, there is up to 74% chance of survival. The high mortality rate is also attributable to the lack of specific symptoms among patients in the early stages.

Symptoms:

Patients afflicted with ovarian cancer most often present with non-specific complaints, such as abnormal vaginal bleeding, gastrointestinal symptoms, urinary tract symtpoms, lower abdominal pain, and generalized abdominal distension.

Diagnosis:

Ovarian cancer may be diagnosed, in part, by collecting a routine medical history and by performing physical examination, x-ray examination and chemcial and hematological studies. Hematological tests include analyses of serum levels of CA125 and DF3 proteins and plasma levels of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). Palpation of the ovaries and ultrasound techniques, particularly including endovaginal ultrasound and color Doppler flow ultrasound techniques, can aid in detection of ovarian tumors and differentiation of ovarian cancer form benign ovarian cysts (US 2006/0029956A1).  Administration of adjuvant chemotherpay consisting of a platinum compound (cisplatin or carboplatin) and a taxene remains the standard treatment for advanced stage folloiwng an optimal primary debulking surgery.