Action needed to improve ovarian cancer detection

Sometimes general gynaecologists may do more harm and they don’t pick up all the cases, says leading oncologist.

DUBAI // Gynaecologists must be better educated on methods of detecting ovarian cancer, say regional experts.

Three out of four cases are detected in the late stage as ovarian cancer has vague symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose. While a patient in stage one of the disease has a 95 per cent chance of survival, the stage four survival rate is no higher than 20 per cent. To compound the problem locally, there are no screening programmes for this disease.

Dr Hassan Jaafar, consultant oncologist at Tawam Hospital, said: “Consulting a gynaecologist is not as good as going to the gynae-oncologist as they are the experts on doing the surgery in an oncological way.

“Sometimes general gynaecologists may do more harm and they don’t pick up all the cases. We have organised many meetings at Tawam Hospital to inform gynaecologists about detecting ovarian cancer. Having more workshops would certainly help educate doctors,” he said.

Dr Jaafar addressed a session on cervical and ovarian cancer in the UAE on Sunday at the Conrad Hotel.

Ovarian cancer is the third most prevalent form of cancer among women in UAE. Globally, one in 71 women has ovarian cancer. In the UAE, 8.2 per cent of all female cancer-related deaths are because of ovarian cancer.

The disease represents 1.3 per cent of all new cancer cases in the US.

One high-risk group includes women who have a gene called BRCA 1 and 2 (breast cancer susceptibility). People who have this gene have a 44 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer by the age of 70, said Dr Jaafar.

Dr Saad Ghazal Aswad, chairman of the department of gynaecology at Tawam Hospital, said women also needed to educate themselves about risk factors associated with the disease.

“Being aware of the frequency and combination of certain symptoms can help with early diagnosis. If detected at a very early stage, ovarian cancers can usually be removed surgically and this can be potentially curative. But much needs to be done to encourage women to talk more openly about their gynaecological worries,” said Dr Aswad.

Symptoms to watch out for include abdominal bloating or swelling, weight loss, discomfort in the pelvis area, changes in bowel habits, irregular menstruation, postmenopausal vaginal bleeding, pain or bleeding after or during intercourse, loss of appetite and fatigue.

New methods of treatment are being explored. Dr Jaafar said that phase one of clinical trials shows that immunotherapy has an “encouraging” success rate of 30 per cent.

Until recently, treatment options for ovarian cancer were limited to surgery and chemotherapy. In 2011, the European Commission approved a biological therapy in combination with standard chemotherapy as an initial treatment for advanced ovarian cancer.

“There is now significant medical advancement,” said Slobodan Nedeljkovic, medical head for Roche Middle East sub regions.

“Patients can receive improved treatment options that include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgical intervention and biological therapies, which can potentially prolong survival. With awareness, timely detection and accurate treatment, the disease progression can be stopped.”