Online calculator identifies women at risk of ovarian cancer

An online calculator has been developed that could help GPs identify women most at risk of having ovarian cancer at an earlier date.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham and ClinRisk Ltd have developed a new QCancer algorithm to detect a person's likelihood of developing ovarian cancer.

The tool uses the UK QResearch database to assess a combination of patient's symptoms and risk factors to red flag those most likely to have ovarian cancer, and enable them to be referred for further investigation or treatment at an earlier stage.

A further two-year study into the success of the algorithm showed that it was able to predict almost two-thirds of ovarian cancers in the ten per cent of women who are most at risk.

Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox, lead researcher, commented: "Ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to spot and we hope that this new tool will help GPs identify patients most at risk of having ovarian cancer for early referral and investigations."

Every year, 6,500 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK, but early detection is vital for treatment to be successful.

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