Ovarian cancer is the most deadly cancer for women – especially Black women. Black women are often diagnosed with more aggressive forms of ovarian cancer and experience more deaths than white women.
Read on to find out why ovarian cancer affects Black women at higher rates and how you can get screened for it with routine exams and Ovalab’s Ova1plus lab test.
Types of ovarian cancer diagnosed in Black women
Ovarian cancer is a serious health concern for women because by the time most women are diagnosed, the cancer is already in a late stage. This is especially concerning for Black women because they are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive ovarian tumors such as high-grade serous epithelial tumors.
Some research shows that Black women get germ-cell tumors and stromal-cell tumors at a higher rate, but more research needs to be done to understand why.
Since Black women have some of the worst outcomes of ovarian cancer. Understanding the risk factors that make ovarian cancer more deadly for Black women is important to improve health outcomes.
Ova1plus by Ovalab for better detection of ovarian cancer in Black women
Ovalab improves health outcomes for women in New York City by giving you personalized health information to help you make the best healthcare decisions. Women in New York City with an adnexal mass now have access to the OVA1plus test, which helps determine the levels of many ovarian cancer-associated markers in your blood and combines everything into a single cancer risk score, making it easy to understand.
This test is available for women with an adnexal mass in the New York area at OvaLab, located in Harlem, and is covered by Medicaid.
OVA1plus is highly sensitive across all ovarian cancer stages, races and ethnicities. This means your cancer risk is more likely to be found on the test.
OVA1 has a 16.7 – 46% higher detection rate (sensitivity) for ovarian malignancy vs. CA-125 in Black women.
OVA1 has a 25% higher detection rate (sensitivity) for ovarian malignancy vs. ROMA (CA-125 & HE4) in white women.
Risk factors for ovarian cancer in Black women
Some risk factors that make ovarian cancer in Black women more serious are:
Lack of access to treatment
Treatment delay, making treating cancer more difficult
Less likely to get standard care for ovarian cancer
Receive lower doses of chemotherapy
Less likely to have surgery for ovarian cancer
Higher rates of high blood pressure, heart and kidney disease and obesity
Lack of representation in clinical trials
Mistrust of the healthcare system
Ovarian cancer in Black women is complex because of many social, economic, environmental and genetic variables. The National Cancer Institute is studying racial differences in ovarian cancer and hopes to improve the quality of care women receive.
For now, understanding the symptoms and educating yourself about early detection is the best way you can get early diagnosis and treatment.
Symptoms of ovarian cancer
One of the best things you can do to reduce your risk is to establish care with a gynecologist and get your routine exam every year. Sometimes, tumors are missed on these exams, so learning the symptoms of ovarian cancer and advocating for yourself can help you get the screening tests you need.
Symptoms of ovarian cancer are:
Abnormal bloating in your belly
Abdominal pain
Discomfort in your pelvic area
Frequent urination
Unexplained weight loss
Fatigue
Back pain
It’s important to know the symptoms of ovarian cancer, but many women with these symptoms already have an advanced stage of cancer. Early detection with lab tests can help get you diagnosed early, significantly improving your survival.
Improve survival with early detection
Since ovarian cancer can be difficult to detect, early screenings are important.
How ovarian cancer is diagnosed:
Pelvic exam: healthcare provider feels the ovaries and abdomen for masses
Transvaginal ultrasound: helps detect a mass on the ovaries
CA-125 blood test: Detects a high level of a protein called CA-125 in your blood. This isn’t a great screening tool because some women with ovarian cancer will have an elevated level, but many will not. CA-125 is not a helpful screening for Black women, who often have lower levels of CA-125, making this lab test less accurate for Black women.
Ovalab has a new lab test available for all New York women. One that better detects cancer risk for women of all races.
With new screening tools, we hope to reduce the rate of Ovarian cancer in Black women and improve health outcomes for New York women.
Medicaid covers Ova1plus and can be done at our state-of-the-art lab in Harlem or any of our mobile site locations.
Click the button below to schedule your appointment today.
