How is ovarian cancer diagnosed?
If you have symptoms of ovarian cancer you should see your doctor, who will examine you and may order some tests.
Your doctor will first take your history and do a physical exam to look for signs of ovarian cancer. These include an enlarged ovary (on a pelvic exam) and signs of fluid in the abdomen (which is called ascites).
If there is reason to suspect you have ovarian cancer based on your symptoms and/or physical exam, your doctor will order some tests to check further.
Consultation with a specialist
If the results of your pelvic exam or other tests suggest that you have ovarian cancer, you will need a doctor or surgeon who specializes in treating women with this type of cancer. A gynecologic oncologist is an obstetrician/gynecologist who is specially trained in treating cancers of the female reproductive system. Treatment by a gynecologic oncologist helps ensure that you get the best kind of surgery for your cancer. It has also has been shown to help patients with ovarian cancer live longer. Anyone suspected of having ovarian cancer should see this type of specialist before having surgery.
Imaging tests like computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and ultrasound studies can confirm whether a pelvic mass is present. These studies cannot confirm that the mass is a cancer, but they may be useful if your doctor is looking to see if ovarian cancer has spread (metastasized) to other tissues and organs.
Ultrasound (ultrasonography) is the use of sound waves to create an image on a video screen. Sound waves are released from a small probe placed in the woman's vagina or on the surface of her abdomen. The sound waves create echoes as they enter the ovaries and other organs. The same probe detects the echoes that bounce back, and a computer translates the pattern of echoes into a picture.
Ultrasound is often the first test done if a problem with the ovaries is suspected. It can be useful finding an ovarian tumor and seeing if it is a solid mass (tumor) or a fluid-filled cyst. It can also be used to get a better look at the ovary to see how big it is and how it looks inside (the internal appearance or complexity). These factors help the doctor decide which masses or cysts are more worrisome.
Computed tomography (CT) scans
The CT scan is an x-ray procedure that produces detailed cross-sectional images of your body. Instead of taking one picture, like a conventional x-ray, a CT scanner takes many pictures as it rotates around you. A computer then combines these pictures into an image of a slice of your body. The machine will take pictures of multiple slices of the part of your body that is being studied.
A CT scanner has been described as a large donut, with a narrow table in the middle opening. You will need to lie still on the table while the scan is being done. CT scans take longer than regular x-rays, and you might feel a bit confined by the ring while the pictures are being taken.
CT scans do not show small ovarian tumors well, but they can see larger tumors, and may be able to see if the tumor is growing into nearby structures. A CT scan may also find enlarged lymph nodes, signs of cancer spread to liver or other organs, or signs that an ovarian tumor is affecting your kidneys or bladder.
You may be asked to drink 1 to 2 pints of a liquid before the CT scan called oral contrast. You might also receive an IV (intravenous) line through which a different kind of contrast dye is injected. Contrast dyes help better outline structures in your body.
The injection can cause some flushing (redness and warm feeling that may last hours to days). A few people are allergic to the dye and get hives. Rarely, more serious reactions like trouble breathing and low blood pressure can occur. Medicine can be given to prevent and treat allergic reactions. Be sure to tell the doctor if you have ever had a reaction to any contrast material used for imaging tests.
CT scans are not usually used to biopsy (see biopsy in the section "Other tests") an ovarian tumor, but they can be used to biopsy a suspected metastasis. For this procedure, called a CT-guided needle biopsy, the patient stays on the CT scanning table, while a radiologist moves a biopsy needle toward the location of the mass. CT scans are repeated until the doctors are confident that the needle is within the mass. A fine needle biopsy sample (tiny fragment of tissue) or a core needle biopsy sample (a thin cylinder of tissue about ½ inch long and less than 1/8 inch in diameter) is removed and examined under a microscope.
Barium enema x-ray
This is a test to see if the cancer has invaded the colon (large intestine) or rectum (it is also used to look for colorectal cancer). After taking laxatives the day before, barium sulfate, a chalky substance, is put into the rectum and colon and x-rays are taken. Because x-rays don’t penetrate (go through) barium, the colon and rectum are outlined on the x-rays. This test is rarely used now in women with ovarian cancer. Colonoscopy may be done instead.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
MRI scans use radio waves and strong magnets instead of x-rays. The energy from the radio waves is absorbed and then released in a pattern formed by the type of tissue and by certain diseases. A computer translates the pattern of radio waves given off by the tissues into a very detailed image of parts of the body. Not only does this produce cross-sectional slices of the body like a CT scanner, it can also produce slices that are parallel with the length of the body. A contrast material might be injected into a vein (same as with a CT scan). MRI scans are not used often to look for ovarian cancer.
MRI scans are particularly helpful to examine the brain and spinal cord. MRI scans take longer than CT scans, -- often up to 30 minutes or more. Also, you have to be placed inside a tube, which is confining and can upset people with claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces). The machine also makes a thumping noise that you may find disturbing. Some places will provide headphones with music to block the sound.
This procedure may be done to determine whether ovarian cancer has spread (metastasized) to the lungs. This spread may cause one or more tumors in the lungs and more often causes fluid to collect around the lungs. This fluid, called a pleural effusion, can be seen with chest x-rays as well as other types of scans.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
In this test, radioactive glucose (sugar) is given to look for the cancer. Because cancers use glucose at a higher rate than normal tissues, the radioactivity will tend to concentrate in the cancer. A scanner can spot the radioactive deposits. This test can be helpful in spotting small collections of cancer cells. In some instances this test has proved useful in finding ovarian cancer that has spread. It is even more valuable when combined with a CT scan (PET/CT scan). PET scans can help find cancer when it has spread, but they are expensive and are not always covered by insurance when they are used to look for ovarian cancer.
This procedure uses a thin, lighted tube through which a doctor can look at the ovaries and other pelvic organs and tissues in the area. The tube is inserted through a small incision (cut) in the lower abdomen and sends the images of the pelvis or abdomen to a video monitor. Laparoscopy provides a view of organs that can help plan surgery or other treatments and can help doctors confirm the stage (how far the tumor has spread) of the cancer. Also, doctors can manipulate small instruments through the laparoscopic incision(s) to perform biopsies.
A colonoscopy is a way to examine the inside of the large intestine (colon). Before this test can be done, the colon and rectum must be cleaned out to remove any stool. This often means drinking a large amount (2 to 4 quarts) of a liquid laxative the night before and the morning of the procedure, and spending hours in the bathroom. Just before the procedure, the patient is given intravenous (IV) medicine to make him or her relaxed or even asleep (sedation). Then a colonoscope (a long, flexible, tube with a light and video camera on the end) is inserted through the rectum and into the colon. The images are sent to a video monitor. Any abnormal areas seen can be biopsied. Because sedation is used for this procedure, patients need someone they know to take them home afterwards (not just a cab). This procedure is more commonly used to look for colorectal cancer.
The only way to determine for certain if a growth is cancer is to remove a sample of the growth from the suspicious area and examine it under a microscope. This procedure is called a biopsy. For ovarian cancer, the biopsy is most commonly done by removing the tumor.
In rare cases, a suspected ovarian cancer may be biopsied during a laparoscopy procedure or with a needle placed directly into the tumor through the skin of the abdomen. Usually the needle will be guided by either ultrasound or CT scan. This is only used in patients who cannot have surgery because of advanced cancer or some other serious medical condition, because there is concern that a biopsy could spread the cancer.
In patients with ascites (fluid buildup inside the abdomen), samples of the fluid can also be used to diagnose the cancer. In this procedure, called paracentesis, the skin of the abdomen is numbed and a needle attached to a syringe is passed through the abdominal wall into the fluid in the abdominal cavity. Ultrasound may be used to guide the needle. The fluid is sucked up into the syringe and then sent for analysis to see if it contains cancer cells.
In all these procedures, the tissue or fluid obtained is sent to the laboratory. There it is examined under the microscope by a pathologist, a doctor who specialize in diagnosing and classifying diseases by examining cells under a microscope and using other lab tests.
Your doctor will order blood count tests to make sure you have enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets (cells that help stop bleeding). There will also be tests to measure your kidney and liver function as well as your general health status. Finally the doctor will order a CA-125 test. Women who have a high CA-125 level are often referred to a gynecologic oncologist, but any woman with suspected ovarian cancer should see a gynecologic oncologist, as well.
Some germ cell cancers can cause elevated blood levels of the tumor markers human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and/or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). These may be checked if your doctor suspects that your ovarian tumor could be a germ cell tumor.
Some ovarian stromal tumors cause the blood levels of a substance called inhibin and hormones such as estrogen and testosterone to go up. These levels may be checked if your doctor suspects that you have this type of tumor.
Last Medical Review: 08/05/2014
Last Revised: 01/26/2015