Ovarian cancer testing is essential for any woman that has a family history of the condition. Two specific genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, account for a significant portion of the number of cases of ovarian cancer and some mutations of the genes are passed to children through genetic material. Women with these mutated genes are thought to be somewhere between 25% and 60% at risk of developing the condition. A woman with family members that have had other types of cancer should also be tested at regular intervals. Abnormal hormone levels may be another reason for a person to have a test for ovarian cancer done. The biggest reason why a woman should have ovarian cancer tests is the presence of certain symptoms. The common symptoms of ovarian cancer are as follows: bloating, back pain, difficulty eating, irregular bleeding of the vagina, leg pain, feeling full soon after eating, urinary problems, abdominal pain, indigestion, gas, trouble breathing, constipation, pelvic pain, nausea, or painful sexual intercourse. However, many early stage cases of ovarian cancer go undetected because there are no manifested symptoms. If any of these symptoms has been experienced on a daily basis for a persistent amount of time, a local doctor should be consulted for a test for ovarian cancer.

There are no absolute ovarian cancer tests that perfectly assess the presence of tumors in or on the ovaries. However, there are certain examinations that can lead to a probability of the condition. The local doctor will most likely begin with tests of the blood and serum electrolytes and then move to a surgical exploration if results from these tests indicate a likelihood of ovarian cancer. For younger women, there are certain serums that will need to be tested as they can indicate a malignant germ cell tumor. These serums are the human chorionic gonadotrpin (BHCG), the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP0), and the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) electrolytes. The CA-125 blood test is also frequently used, but there is some controversy over its use. Many experts claim that the test has low sensitivity and is unable to detect the early stages of ovarian cancer, thus making it somewhat useless in early detection of cases. Any assessment for ovarian cancer will also need to include a physical examination of the pelvis to look for foreign masses on the ovaries or in the abdominal region.

While ovarian cancer testing is lacking in present times, there is quite a bit of research that is being done in this area. A newer method of providing accurate early detection utilizes tumor markers proteomics. These proteomics are combined with radiological and symptomatic indicators of the condition to provide more accurate results. However, there is a problem with this approach. The low number of actual cases of ovarian cancer means that very high testing will most likely have a large number of false positives, leading to unnecessary exploratory surgery. Doctors now are beginning to use trans-vaginal ultrasounds to find excessive ascites levels. Ovarian cancer testing is going through many radical changes and these improvements should lead to more women detecting the condition in the more treatable early stages.