NICE calls for improved ovarian cancer testing

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published new guidance this week that calls for ovarian cancer testing to be improved.

It wants a greater number of initial investigations to be carried out in GP surgeries and other primary care settings, with the aim of increasing the speed with which patients are referred to specialists.

NICE recommends the use of a specific blood test, which measures CA125 protein levels, to help with the effectiveness of such investigations. The hope is that the quicker people are diagnosed, the quicker they can be treated.

"This test is already available on the NHS, but by offering it sooner and in primary care, we hope that it will lead to earlier diagnoses and treatment," commented Dr Fergus Macbeth, the organisation's centre for clinical practice director.

The guidance is the first issued by NICE for ovarian cancer, which is the fifth most common cancer affecting women, following breast, lung, bowel and uterine diseases.