Investigators Call for Greater Awareness, Further Research to Reduce Ovarian Cancer Mortality Disparities

To conclude this interview series, Ali Shan Hafeez, a fourth-year MBBS student, and Abdul Rafae Faisal, MBBS, both investigators of the study "Demographic Trends in Mortality Due to Ovarian Cancer in the United States, 1999-2020," discuss how their findings can inform efforts to improve early detection and prevention of ovarian cancer. They also highlight areas where further research is needed.

Revisit parts 1 and 2 to hear from fellow investigator Muhammad Faizan, MBBS, who summarizes the study's key findings and explores the factors behind the significant decline in age-adjusted ovarian cancer mortality rates after 2003.

In part 3, learn about the potential reasons for the disparities observed across age, race, and geographic regions, along with public health and clinical interventions that may help reduce them.

This transcript was lightly edited; captions were auto-generated.

Transcript

Given the absence of routine screening for ovarian cancer, how can your findings guide efforts toward earlier detection or prevention?

Unlike many other malignancies, ovarian cancer does not have any established screening test for average-risk women. Without a routine ovarian cancer screening test, our research highlights alternative pathways towards improved outcomes.

If we talk about targeted awareness campaigns, we must prioritize educating women, especially older adults and those living in rural communities, about early ovarian cancer symptoms. Enhancing awareness among both patients and primary care providers seems to be the key point for earlier medical interventions.

Health care professionals should increasingly adopt personalized risk evaluation methods, such as detailed family histories and genetic testing for BRCA mutations. High-risk individuals should be proactively offered preventive interventions, such as prophylactic surgery or close surveillance by oncologists. This requires continued investment in ovarian cancer research.

What further research is needed to build upon your findings?

We need further research into tumor biology and genetic susceptibility among varying populations for targeted therapy and for, obviously, improved outcomes.

Similarly, I think we need to incorporate telemedicine into the whole process for populations with limited access. We need patient navigation programs, and, potentially, if we can, and I do not know how that will pan out yet, we can incorporate artificial intelligence into the whole framework of treatment.

I think these are a few things, and maybe we can look for more reliable biomarkers, too.