Don’t perform pelvic ultrasound in average risk women to screen for ovarian cancer.

Rationale and Comments

Although the mortality rate associated with ovarian cancer is high, the disease occurs infrequently in the general U.S. population, with an age-adjusted incidence of 13 cases per 100,000 women. As a result, the positive predictive value of screening for ovarian cancer is low, and most women with a positive screening test result will have a false-positive result. Annual screening with transvaginal ultrasonography in women does not reduce the number of ovarian cancer deaths.

Sponsoring Organizations

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Sources

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Disciplines

Gynecologic
Oncologic
Preventive Medicine

References

Moyer VA. Screening for ovarian cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reaffirmation recommendation statement. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med 2012;157:900–4.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Gynecologic Practice. Committee Opinion No. 477: the role of the obstetrician-gynecologist in the early detection of epithelial ovarian cancer. Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Mar;117(3):742-6.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ovarian cancer: screening. Rockville (MD): USPSTF; 2012. Available at: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/UpdateSummaryFinal/ovarian-cancer-screening. Retrieved December 9, 2015.