LETTER
Screening for Ovarian Cancer
Roger A. Renfrew
15 January 1995 | Volume 122 Issue 2 | Page 155
TO THE EDITOR:
The clinical guideline and review article on screening for ovarian cancer are concise, clear statements about this particular issue [1, 2]. As a practicing clinician, I appreciate the effort to provide guidance for a rational clinical approach to screening testing.
One gray area related to this problem is the need for pelvic examinations in healthy, asymptomatic, previously screened (for cervical cancer) women between Papanicolaou tests. I generally do Papanicolaou tests every 3 years in my patients after establishing two or three normal test results within a year. How often pelvic examinations need to be done exemplifies the problem of "complete physical examinations versus screening examinations." The practical significance of this question is the amount of time that must be allotted for doing screening maneuvers and the ability to integrate this screening into routine office visits.
I have two questions for the authors. First, is there a justification or rationale for doing pelvic examinations in healthy, asymptomatic, previously screened women? Second, as a practical matter, do the authors do pelvic examinations on a more frequent basis than is required for Papanicolaou testing in healthy, asymptomatic, previously screened women?
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Author and Article Information
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Redington Medical Associates, Skowhegan, ME 04976. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114.
1. Carlson KJ, Skates SJ, Singer DE. Screening for ovarian cancer. Ann Intern Med. 1994; 121:124-32.
2. American College of Physicians. Screening for ovarian cancer: recommendations and rationale. Ann Intern Med. 1994; 121:141-2.
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