Blood tests performed regularly can detect about 86% of all ovarian cancers in early stages, according to a national-scale British study.

Ovarian tumors are often fatal because they are discovered too late. First results of this study, conducted by researchers at University College London for a period of 14 years, on a sample of more than 46,000 women, suggests that these tumors can be detected much earlier.

Every year in the UK, about 7,100 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 4,200 die from the disease.

This type of cancer is difficult to detect because symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, persistent, and difficult digestion, are usually caused by other unrelated diseases.

Ovarian tumors lead to an increase in the concentration of a chemical in the body, referred to as the CA125, which is already used in some tests as a biological marker, for people with those symptoms.

Members of the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening conducted annual blood tests on sample groups of menopausal women in 13 clinics in the UK.

They monitored the concentrations of CA125 over the years and if those levels become very high, those women were referred to other medical tests and perform an ultrasound investigation.

The results of this study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, showed that 86% of all cancer cases could be detected at an early stage, so treatable thanks to these blood tests.

The first tests were carried out in 2001. The last blood test was carried out in 2011 and the final results of the study, including the death rate, are to be announced in fall.

This personalized medical approach may also prove useful in the early detection of other cancers, such as prostate cancer.