A paper published today in Lancet Oncology, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and led by Professor Sudha Sundar at the University of Birmingham, compared various diagnostic tests for ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women in the first study of its kind.

Among the six diagnostic methods evaluated, the IOTA ADNEX model, which analyzes ultrasound characteristics of tumors, demonstrated the highest accuracy, detecting nearly 96% of ovarian cancer cases.

This ultrasound method significantly outperforms the current standard care in the UK, prompting a recommendation to replace the existing risk of malignancy (RMI1) test, which identifies only 83% of ovarian cancer cases.

Professor Sudha Sundar, a Gynaecological Cancer expert at the University of Birmingham, stated:

“This is the first comprehensive head-to-head comparison of all available tests for ovarian cancer in the same group of women. We focused on symptomatic postmenopausal women, who are at elevated risk for this type of cancer. Our findings indicated that the IOTA ADNEX ultrasound protocol has the highest sensitivity for detecting ovarian cancer compared to standard care and other methods.”

“Importantly, the ultrasound test performs effectively when administered by trained sonographers who have completed specialized training and quality assurance. Since most ultrasound procedures are conducted by sonographers, it’s essential to have a new standard that can be widely implemented by clinical professionals.”

“We noted that the increased sensitivity of the IOTA ADNEX model may result in some women without cancer being identified as at-risk. However, after discussions with patients, cancer charity Target Ovarian Cancer, and NHS experts, we concluded that for postmenopausal women who are more susceptible to ovarian cancer, identifying a greater number of cancer cases is beneficial overall.”

Annwen Jones OBE, Chief Executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, remarked:

‘Early detection of ovarian cancer is critical, and we are encouraged to see research indicating that ultrasound can be utilized more effectively. The sooner ovarian cancer is diagnosed, the more manageable it becomes, leading to improved treatment outcomes. In addition to this pioneering research, there is a pressing need to boost awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms, encouraging women to visit their GP for testing and receive optimal treatment swiftly. It is crucial to implement new practices like this as rapidly as possible.’

The research team highlighted that the IOTA ADNEX model achieved 96% accuracy when performed by well-trained NHS sonographers under a quality assurance framework. Since sonographers conduct most global scans rather than gynaecologists, the researchers have developed free online resources for NHS staff to obtain specialized ultrasound training, certification, and quality assurance.