title: A novel hysteroscopic approach for ovarian cancer screening/early diagnosis.
abstract: The lethality of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) may be due to common misconceptions regarding etiology and the absence of effective screening and early diagnostic tools. Reviews of histopathological surveys performed on the resected fallopian tubes of breast cancer (BRCA) mutation carriers, who underwent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, unexpectedly revealed the presence of occult carcinomas of the fallopian tubes. This finding prompted studies that demonstrated the most accredited theory of type II EOC development, which suggests that a large proportion of these tumors are derived from the fallopian tube. At present, no diagnostic tools or screening programs have been demonstrated to be effective or cost-effective in improving the outcome of EOC; it is therefore imperative that the scientific community unite its efforts in the identification of a valid screening and/or early diagnostic method for the treatment of this lethal gynecological malignancy. To this end, the present paper proposes a novel tool for the screening/early diagnosis of EOC: The 'Tuba-check'. This novel approach is based on the possibility of acquiring specimens for tubal lumen cytology via hysteroscopy in a minimally-invasive outpatient setting. The present study protocol aimed to validate the technical feasibility and oncological accuracy of the proposed approach, commencing with a cohort of patients with an expected increased oncological risk, including BRCA mutation carriers or those with a gene expression profile of 'BRCA-ness'. If the data collected by the present study protocol validates this approach, the 'Tuba-check' may, in the near future, be extended for the treatment of all women, therefore reducing the number of victims of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, I-35128 Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gizzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, I-35128 Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noventa
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quaranta
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, I-35128 Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Amerigo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vitagliano
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, I-35128 Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saccardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, I-35128 Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Litta
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, I-35128 Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Donato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Antona
keywords: cost-effective strategy; cytological tubal investigation; early diagnosis; epithelial ovarian cancer; outpatient setting; screening tool