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About Women’s Reproductive Cancers: Facts and
Diagnostic Methods
What are the current methods of testing for women’s cancers?
There are several tests currently available to identify the presence of this cancer group, including the CA 125 test, Pap tests and ultrasounds. However, these tests are invasive and are not always accurate.
CA 125 Test: CA 125, or Cancer Antigen 125, is a protein that is often secreted into the blood when cancer is present in the body. CA 125 test helps detect increased CA 125 levels and is primarily used during and after treatment of ovarian cancer to determine therapeutic treatment and evaluate whether the cancer has come back. However, not all women with elevated CA 125 levels have cancer.
Pap Test: A Pap test is designed to detect the earliest signs of cervical cancer by evaluating a sample of cells taken from the cervical area. Between 25 and 30 percent of Pap tests result in false negatives. While the Pap test can occasionally find some early uterine tumors, most tumors are not detected by this test. Unfortunately, there is no other reliably effective test for finding ovarian cancer early.
Transvaginal Sonography:Transvaginal Sonography is an imaging technique that helps detect tumors in the ovaries, but it does not accurately determine between benign and cancerous masses.
While these popular screening tests are useful in diagnosing cancer, they detect tumors on a macro rather than a molecular level, requiring the cancer to be advanced enough to have formed recognizable tumors. However, if these cancers can be identified and treated at an earlier stage – even before a tumor is large enough to show up on film or with ultrasound – then the chances of successful treatment are overwhelmingly positive.
By working on a molecular level,
RCP Test is designed to close this gap in doctors’ diagnoses, helping them to better identify and treat women’s cancers at an earlier stage.