The FDA recently approved OVA1, an ovarian cancer test that would make it possible for surgeons to find out if a pelvic mass that already requires surgery is cancerous. The test would let doctors know whether a patient should be referred to a gynecologic oncologist for surgery. While the test is not meant to screen ovarian cancer and is only appropriate for women who have already been recommended for surgery for a pelvic mass, it could find cancer in a pelvic mass where other tests have shown a negative result.
The test could be helpful in directing a patient to the right surgeon and the right type of surgery, which could have great benefits for ovarian cancer patients. Reports from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists have concluded that a patient's chances of surviving ovarian cancer greatly improve when the surgery to remove the mass is done by a gynecologic oncologist instead of a general surgeon. The OVA1 was produced by Johns Hopkins University and Vermillion Inc., whose stock skyrocketed with the announcement of the FDA approval, in conjunction. Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer in women and responsible for about 15,000 deaths a year.
