Sean McFadden, M.D.,  is a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sarpy County OB/Gyn in Papillion, affiliated with Alegent Health Women's and Children's Services. Find out more about Dr. McFadden

Q:  Is there a test I can take to find out if I have ovarian cancer?  Are there warning signs?

A:  Although ovarian cancer isn't that common-- ranking fifth in cancers that affect women--it causes over 14,000 deaths a year. And like all cancers, the earlier it's treated the better the chance survival.

However, because the symptoms of early stage ovarian cancer are subtle, it often goes undetected until the advanced stages. This is partly because the tools for detecting ovarian cancer, Transvaginal ultrasound, and a blood test for abnormally high amounts of the protein CA 125, are not reliable for early screening.

Transvaginal ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to detect the tumors, but often does not detect them in early stages. And while the CA-125 assay, a blood test used to measure the level of CA-125, can find higher-than-normal amounts in the blood of women with ovarian cancer, it is not known at what point in the growth of the tumor that the protein CA 125 level rises.

Recently however, research has shown that a breakthrough might be on the way. The hope is that a simple test will soon be available to detect tumors in early-stage ovarian cancer victims.

The British medical journal, The Lancet reported on February 16 that researchers at the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, and Correlogic Systems, Inc., a private company, designed a computer program that spots distinctive patterns of proteins in blood. And it appears that it may promise to be an effective screening tool for ovarian cancer.

In it's first test, the computer analysis, designed to analyze "proteomic patterns," or prostasin, detected ovarian cancer with 100% accuracy, and was 95% accurate in ruling out ovarian cancer for women with other diseases.

However, more research is needed, and until an accurate screening test for early stage ovarian cancer is available to the public, it's important to remember that there are early symptoms. Although they can be subtle, being aware of those symptoms could lead to earlier detection of the disease, and a better chance for survival.

Listed below are symptoms of ovarian cancer, and although they may be caused by other, less serious conditions, they should be checked out by your physician.

The most common symptoms of ovarian cancer are a combination of:

• Constant feelings of bloating in the abdomen
• Abdominal or lower back pain
• Lack of energy

Other symptoms could include:

• Nausea
• Diarrhea, constipation, or frequent urination
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling of fullness even after a light meal
• Weight gain or loss with no known reason
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding.