OVA1 Improves Ovarian Cancer Detection Over CA 125 Blood Test and Clinical Assessment

A paper published in the June issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology demonstrated that adding OVA1 to a physician's preoperative assessment of a woman's ovarian mass would identify more ovarian cancers than a physician's preoperative assessment alone. The study is the second published online this month in the journal, which is the official publication of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, to show OVA1's value over the CA 125 test in evaluating women for the likelihood of ovarian cancer prior to surgery. OVA1 is the first test cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for aiding in the pre-surgical evaluation of a woman's ovarian mass for cancer. An estimated 300,000 surgeries are performed on women with an ovarian mass each year. Vermillion, Inc. VRML, a molecular diagnostics company, developed OVA1, and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated DGX, the world's leading diagnostic testing company, offers OVA1 testing services in the United States and India. Quest Diagnostics and Vermillion both participated in the study and Vermillion also helped fund the study. In the manuscript "Effectiveness of a Multivariate Index Assay in the Preoperative Assessment of Ovarian Tumors," physician assessment and the use of OVA1 correctly identified 70% of malignancies missed by physician assessment among gynecologists and other non-gynecologic oncologists, and 95% of malignancies missed by physician assessment among gynecologic oncologists. OVA1 also detected 76% of malignancies that would have been missed by CA 125 using ACOG-recommended guidelines.