Reference: MRC/02/00
Embargo: 10.30 am, Tuesday 21 March 2000
MAJOR TRIAL OF OVARIAN CANCER SCREENING ANNOUNCED
A major new trial of ovarian cancer screening in postmenopausal women was announced today, Tuesday 21 March. The results will help to establish whether or not ovarian cancer screening saves lives and if so, whether an NHS national screening programme for ovarian cancer should be introduced. The Medical Research Council (MRC) has awarded some £5.7 million for the trial. Two cancer charities - The Cancer Research Campaign (CRC) and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) - will also be contributing £1.5 million each to fund this work. The Department of Health will be making a major contribution to the trial in line with NHS support for clinical trials.
Ovarian cancer is the fourth most frequent cause of death from cancer in women, with almost 6,000 cases diagnosed every year. Most women who develop this cancer have few symptoms until it has spread and it is then difficult to treat. The hope is that early detection by screening will save lives.
The research, to be based at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, will be headed by Professor Ian Jacobs of Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. He said: "At the end of this study we will have information about how many lives ovarian cancer screening could save, how much this will cost, how women feel about screening and the associated complications of screening".
Professor Jacobs and the team at St Bartholomew's and The Royal London School of Medicine have been working on ovarian cancer screening since 1985 with support from two cancer charities - Research into Ovarian Cancer (ROC) and the Gynaecological Cancer Research Fund (GCRF). This previous work was fundamental in indicating that screening may improve the survival of women with ovarian cancer. However, the large MRC trial is required in order to see whether screening definitely saves lives and to assess the psychological and health economic implications of screening.
The trial, known as the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS), will involve 200,000 women from 12 collaborating centres in the UK and will take about ten years to complete.
Women will not be able to volunteer to be screened but participants in the trial will be invited to take part from health authorities in twelve regions. The women who agree to participate will then be randomly allocated either to annual screening or to follow up without screening. For women allocated to screening the initial tests will involve either a blood test or ultrasound scan.
The development of this trial has resulted from extensive discussions between the research team, the National Screening Committee, the MRC, cancer charities and the Department of Health.
Anyone wanting more information on this ovarian cancer screening trial can ring the freephone Science Line helpline on 0808 800 4000 or e-mail scienceline@bss.org. The lines are open 9.30am to 7pm, Monday to Friday.
ENDS
For more information call the MRC Press Office on 0171 637 6011.
NOTE TO EDITORS
The Medical Research Council (MRC), established in 1913, aims to improve health by promoting research into all areas of medical and related science. It is funded mainly by the government, but is independent in its choice of which research to support. About half of the MRC’s expenditure of £315.9 million is invested in its Institutes and Units, where it employs its own research staff. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools.
St Bartholomew's Hospital is part of Barts and The London NHS Trust, which also includes The Royal London Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Children's Service and The London Chest Hospital.
St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry is part of Queen Mary and Westfield College, one of the largest multi-faculty colleges of the University of London. The College has more than 8,000 students studying for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across six faculties: arts, laws, informatics and mathematical sciences, natural sciences, engineering and social sciences, as well as the School of Medicine and Dentistry. It is rated in the top 15 of UK research universities.
The Cancer Research Campaign (CRC) is Britain's foremost cancer charity dedicated to preventing, treating and curing cancer. We lead Europe in anti-cancer drug development and are the major funder of research in universities and research institutions across the UK.
Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is dedicated to the prevention, treatment and cure of all forms of cancer. Its 1,000 scientists and doctors are at the forefront of the worldwide effort to find new answers to cancer. The charity relies overwhelmingly on voluntary funding to carry out its vital work.
Research into Ovarian Cancer (ROC): Committed to funding research into ovarian cancer, the charity ROC has, for the past 7 years, been the major funding body for the Ovarian Cancer Screening Unit's randomised controlled study based at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.
The Gynaecology Cancer Research Fund (GCRF) is a registered charity, founded in 1985 in order to support research into and treatment of women's cancers. Since then, the charity's fund-raising has been directed toward supporting the work of the Department of Gynaecological Oncology, part of St Bartholomew's and Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary and Westfield College.
Department of Health: The Department of Health (England) funds research in health and social care to inform policy and improve the effectiveness of services. In addition, the NHS contributes to the resources needed for clinical trials in the NHS, which are funded by research councils or charities, through the provision of service support and treatment costs as appropriate.
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