FDA Recommends against Ovarian Cancer Screening Test; Says It’s No Substitute for Preventive Measures

​Currently, no screening tests for ovarian cancer are sensitive enough to be reliable without a high number of inaccurate results, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety notice issued on September 7, 2016. Using unproven ovarian cancer screening tests may be harmful, FDA said, because women and their doctors may not take appropriate action to reduce future risk of developing the cancer if the result shows that no cancer is present. Based on currently available information, FDA is advising against the use of the screening tests for ovarian cancer that are currently offered.