Is Lapro surgery the ONLY way to screen for one type of OC?

Hi, Dr. GOodman.   I understand that there are two types of OC - one caused form a tumor, and one from the lining of the ovaries.  If the form of cancer is of the lining, how would that show up on an ultrasound or CT scan?? HOw does a doctor determine that this form of cancer is present short of doing a lapro?? Seems like a big risk to undergo surgery just to see.   Is this where doctors rely on the CA-125?? Are there ANY other tests that would indicate the type of cancer that impacts the lining of the ovary short of doing laproscopic surgery??  I am making a big assumption that this would not show up on an ultrasound or CT scan??

If a laproscopic procedure is done to look at a cyst that is present, do doctors also biopsy other areas of the ovaries??? Can the lining be biopsied and/or is this something that would be visible to the surgeon??

Just trying to educate myself here.  Thank you for the time that you devote to this forum and to those who are dealing with some difficult issues.

MM

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

HI There

first of all the only way to diagnose ovarian cancer is by a biopsy.
A biopsy means obtaining tissue to look at it under the microscope.

Tissue can be obtained either by taking a biopsy needle and inserting it into the tissue in question and sucking back some tissue which can then be place on a slide and ooked microscopically,

or tissue is obtained by a surgical procedure where an incision is made in the body (either a small incision by a surgical technique called laparoscopy or a large incision by a surgical technique called laparotomy). This requires general anesthesia.

The decision to do a needle biopsy versus an actual operation is usually bases on what the xray pictures show plus how sick is the person in question.can they withstand an operation.

for instance a 90 year woman with a large mass seen on a CT scan will usually undergo a biopsy.If a malignancy is found, one can decide philosophically if chemotherapy makes sense or just best supportive care

if someone is a 50 year old healthy person and a CT scan shows a large mass.The first step is to remove the mass surgically. Then the mass is evaluated microscopically to determine if it is a cancer

best wishes