Case Presentation
A 28-year-old African American woman arrived at the emergency room experiencing abdominal pain in her lower left pelvis. She had no previous diagnosis of cancer, nor did any of her family.
Clinical Impression
While at the emergency room a CT scan and X-ray were ordered, revealing a mass on the patient’s left ovary. The patient was referred to her ObGyn, who performed a sonogram and determined surgical intervention would be appropriate. To help decide if a specialist referral was necessary, an OVA1 was ordered to help determine the likelihood of cancer. The OVA1 score came back as a 6.7, indicating an increased likelihood of cancer and resulting in the patient being referred to a gynecologic oncologist for her surgery.
Diagnosis
Patient was diagnosed with a Stage IA ovarian cancer, a squamous cell carcinoma arising from a mature teratoma.
Use of OVA1
The OVA1 test helped detect this malignancy in the earliest stage, which led to referral of the patient to the specialist and improved her chance of survival.