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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2006;296:2429.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Many of the tests used to diagnose ovarian cancer do not reduce mortality from the disease or improve patients' quality of life, according to a new report supported by a partnership of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annually, more than 20 000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 15 000 die of the disease.

Because ovarian cancer often goes undetected until advanced stages, recent tests have focused on potential signs of early disease, such as the tumor marker CA-125 (cancer antigen-125) and genetic mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. However, researchers performed a review of the literature and found no studies showing that changing treatment based on these tests' results reduced deaths or improved quality of life in women with ovarian cancer. A computer simulation model designed by the researchers also suggested that . . . [Full Text of this Article]