How does the transvaginal ultrasound aid in the detection ovarian cancer?
Transvaginal ultrasound is very good at detecting small lesions within the ovary. Furthermore, a skilled operator is often able to get an indication of the likelihood of a lesion being a cancer from its appearance. Unfortunately, there is also a risk of detecting benign or insignificant changes within the ovaries. As with elevated CA 125 this may lead to the requirement for further testing, and possibly even gynaecological surgery. The risk of having this sort of falsely abnormal test result (false positive) is greatly reduced by having the ultrasound performed at a clinic experienced in the assessment of ovarian disease.
