USPSTF Does Not Recommend Ovarian Cancer Screening for General Population

(July 19, 2017) The United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has once again recommended against screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic, average risk women. The draft statement, which was published on July 18th, does not apply to women who are positive for BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, who have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.

There are two main reasons for their recommendation. One is that, unfortunately, screening tests today are not efficient in determining whether or not a woman has ovarian cancer. Consequently, the second reason is that, as task force member Maureen Phipps, MD, explains, “screening women without signs or symptoms for ovarian cancer does not decrease the number of deaths from the disease and may lead to unnecessary surgeries.”

The USPSTF is accepting comments on this draft recommendation until August 14.