Ovarian cancer is a type of cancer that forms in or on the ovaries and causes abnormal cells to have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. When the process begins, there may be no or only vague symptoms.
As the cancer progresses, the symptoms become more pronounced. These symptoms may include bloating, pelvic pain, swollen abdomen, and loss of appetite, among others. There are more than 230,000 new cases of ovarian cancer and 150,000 deaths in the world every year, and about 52,000 women in mainland China are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, of which 22,000 people die.
How can you prevent ovarian cancer in your life?
1. Do not abuse hormonal drugs and supplements.
2. Be in a good mood.
3. Age-appropriate childbearing.
4. High-risk groups have their ovaries removed in a timely manner.
5. Control your weight, stay away from obesity, and eat a balanced diet.
6. Active screening.
At present, the clinical screening and diagnosis methods for ovarian cancer include:
1. Pelvic examination: gynecological examination, including observation of the vulva, observation of the vagina and cervix with the help of a speculum, and pelvic examination of bimanual and trimanual examination.
2. Tumor marker detection: the common ones are CA125, HE4, CEA, etc., among which CA125 is the most commonly used marker of epithelial ovarian cancer.
3. Imaging examination: For patients with ovarian cancer, CT examination and transvaginal ultrasound examination are more used.
4. Tissue biopsy: The only way to confirm the diagnosis of ovarian cancer is a tissue biopsy, in general, the doctor needs to perform surgery to remove the tissue from the suspected cancer area, and then send it to the pathology department for microscopic observation to determine whether it is cancer.
5. Ovarian cancer gene methylation detection: By collecting the blood of the examinee, DNA methylation changes can be detected in the blood, which is sensitive to early cancer and even cancer detection before clinical diagnosis.
Because the ovaries are located in the deep part of the body, most of the pelvic endoscopy and imaging examinations in the early stage of tumors rely on doctors' experience, and the commonly used tumor markers in clinical practice also lack specificity for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and the individual acceptance of tissue biopsy is not high, resulting in most ovarian cancer patients being diagnosed in the middle and advanced stages, and the efficacy is not good. Methylation is an epigenetic modification, which regulates the expression and closure of genes and maintains the integrity of chromosomes under the condition that the DNA sequence remains unchanged, so as to regulate DNA recombination and transcriptional activity in some specific genomic regions, which is closely related to human development and tumorigenesis.
Tumor cell methylation is characterized by low methylation at the genome-wide level of cancer cells, which occurs in the early stage of cancer and is related to the severity and metastasis of tumors, and a large number of clinical data show that HOXD9, FOXA1, RASSF1A, ADAMTS1 and BNC1, CDO1, APC methylation, its sensitivity and specificity suggest that it can develop into a new minimally invasive ovarian cancer screening marker.
People who are recommended to be screened for ovarian cancer methylation:
1. Have a family history of breast cancer and ovarian cancer;
2. There is a BRCA1/2 gene mutation in the family;
3. Advanced age (over 35 years old) who has given birth for the first time or has never given birth;
4. Early menarche and late menopause.
Based on the current research data, it is also found that the detection rate of stage I ovarian cancer can reach more than 76% based on dual-gene methylation detection technology, indicating that this technology may make up for the shortcomings of early detection of ovarian cancer in the current clinical practice in the future, and become one of the better solutions for early screening and early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
It should be noted that the results of methylation cannot be used as a basis for diagnosis for the time being, but to screen high-risk groups that cannot be detected by traditional detection methods, so as to prevent diseases before they occur, which is the purpose of early screening! If the cancer can be screened and strangled in the cradle by early screening when the cancer first appears (here refers to the accumulation of cancer cells rather than the cancer has already formed), it will be a great blessing in life.