This study focuses on women who have mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast/ovarian cancer susceptibility genes (either in themselves or in close relatives) or who have a strong family history of these two cancers. Women with these risk factors are significantly more likely to develop ovarian cancer than women without them, often at an earlier-than-usual age (i.e., before the age of 60).

Other Options for Managing Your Ovarian Cancer Risk

Currently, there are various options for managing the risk of ovarian cancer in high risk women, including surgical removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, screening for ovarian cancer, and the use of oral contraceptives (birth control pills). Surgical removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes (both are more likely to develop cancer in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations) is the most widely recommended risk-reducing option offered to high-risk women. This procedure often, but not always, protects women from developing ovarian cancer. In addition, there are data to suggest that removal of the ovaries in premenopausal high-risk women may also reduce the risk of breast cancer in those women. As a result, it is widely recommended that surgical removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes be seriously considered once high risk women have completed childbearing.

However, there are a significant number of women for whom surgery is not an acceptable option when it is initially proposed. For these high-risk women, current screening recommendations include the use of transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) and periodic blood tests to measure the levels of a chemical in the body called CA-125. The goals of screening are to detect ovarian cancer at an earlier point in its development, to reduce the chances of dying from this disease. However, there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest that screening for ovarian cancer is effective in achieving these goals.

Evaluating a New Screening Approach

Both the safety and the benefits related to using birth control pills to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in high-risk women are uncertain. Furthermore, there is a pressing need to learn more about the risks and benefits of removing the ovaries in otherwise healthy young women. The Ovarian Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Study will help us to gather more information on these questions, while evaluating a new approach to ovarian cancer screening.

Women at increased genetic risk of ovarian cancer who are interested in joining the study should talk to their health care providers about whether enrolling in this study is right for them. After they have discussed the possible risks and benefits with their local health care providers, women who participate will choose to enter either the screening or the surgery group of the study.