New phase of Northern Ireland screening trial launched

New phase of Northern Ireland screening trial launched
(Ovarian Cancer-October 7, 2003)

The next phase of a major screening trial for ovarian cancer in Northern Ireland was launched on September 11, 2003, by Cancer Research N. Ireland and the Medical Research Council.

Some 5,000 women from Northern Ireland participated in the first stage of the trial. The researchers behind the project are now launching a major recruitment drive to reach a target of recruiting 16,600 women in the Province. Doctors hope the trial could lead to a nationwide ovarian cancer screening program to save thousands of lives.

Ovarian cancer is known as the "silent killer," because in many cases symptoms of the disease appear when it is too late for treatment to be curative. The disease has a low 5-year survival rate of 30%.

Dr. Stephen Dobbs, consultant gynecologist at the Belfast City Hospital and leading local clinician on the trial, says, "Previous studies have suggested that, if successful, a nationwide screening program could halve the death toll from ovarian cancer. The trial we are running in Belfast is part of the U.K. Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS), designed to examine how effective such a program would be.

"It's an exciting project, as the data produced will tell us whether it will be feasible to introduce an ovarian cancer screening program available to all women in age groups at higher risk, similar to those currently offered for cervical and breast cancers," Dobbs says.

The trial is funded by Cancer Research N. Ireland and the Medical Research Council, with additional support from the U.K. National Health Service (NHS).

Women can't volunteer to take part in the trial, but are randomly selected from participating general practitioners' lists and invited by letter to participate. This is so the trial can reflect the format of a nationwide trial offered to all women on the NHS.

Women who agree to take part in the trial are randomly allocated either to screening or to follow up without screening. Women allocated to screening will initially receive either a blood test, an ultrasound scan, or both.

"We are currently sending out a new batch of invitations to take part in the trial to women in the Belfast area. Any women who received a letter in the past and didn't feel at the time that they could take part in the trial are very welcome to come forward now," Dobbs says.

If they've lost the letter, women can call 028 902633353 and give their name, address, and date of birth.

Dr. John Toy, Cancer Research N. Ireland's medical director, says, "Screening for breast and cervical cancers is already saving many lives every year in Northern Ireland, through detecting the diseases early to give women the best chance of survival. We look forward to learning the results of this new trial. If successful it could lead to a nationwide screening program to help more women survive ovarian cancer, which presently claims 100 lives each year in the Province."

The UKCTOCS trial will take place over 10 years, at a total cost of UKP20 million. The Northern Irish part of the trial will cost UKP1 million. Recruitment for the trial began in 2001. This article was prepared by Cancer Weekly editors from staff and other reports.