Screening for Ovarian Cancer in Older Patients (PLCO Screening Trial)

Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial

This clinical trial studies whether screening methods used to diagnose cancer of the prostate, lung, colon, rectum, or ovaries can reduce deaths from these cancers. Screening tests may help doctors find cancer cells early and plan better treatment for ovarian cancer. The ovarian cancer screening tests are part of a trial that addresses the screening of four cancer sites, each with their own results record: prostate (NCT00002540), lung (NCT01696968), colorectal (NCT01696981), and ovarian (NCT01696994).

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Ovarian Carcinoma; Ovarian Germ Cell Tumor
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Other: Screening Questionnaire Administration; Procedure: Ultrasound Imaging

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine whether screening with CA125 and transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) can reduce mortality from ovarian cancer in women aged 55-74 at entry.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess screening variables, other than mortality, for each of the interventions including sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value.

II. To assess the incidence, stage, and survival of cancer cases. III. To investigate the mortality predictive value of biologic and/or prognostic characterizations of tumor tissue as intermediate endpoints.

IV. To conduct biomolecular and genetic research into factors associated with cancer carcinogenesis and promotion, as well as the early detection of these factors.

OUTLINE: Participants in the overall PLCO study are stratified by screening center, gender, and age (55-59 vs 60-64 vs 65-69 vs 70-74). Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 arms (control vs screening).

ARM I (Control): Participants receive standard medical care. Participants complete a Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ) at baseline.

ARM II (Ovarian Screening): Participants undergo blood sample collection for CA125 analysis at baseline annually for 5 years. Serum that is not used in the study will be stored in an NCI biorepository. Participants also undergo an ovarian palpation exam (OVR, discontinued in December 1998) and TVU at baseline and annually for 3 years. A scheduling and tracking procedure is implemented to ensure regular attendance at repeat screens for participants screened negative or for those who are designated suspicious or positive at screening but for whom subsequent diagnostic procedures do not reveal ovarian cancer (follow-up diagnostic procedures are through their own medical care environment). Participants diagnosed with ovarian cancer via a screening test are referred for treatment in accordance with current accepted practice for appropriate stage of disease, patient age, and medical condition; a procedure is provided for contact with qualified medical personnel to insure appropriate therapy.

Participants complete a Dietary Questionnaire (DQX) at baseline and DHQ at year 3. An Annual Study Update (ADU) (previously referred to as the Periodic Survey of Health [PSH] questionnaire) is mailed to each participant annually for 13 years to identify all prevalent and incident cancers of the ovaries as all deaths that occur among both screened and control subjects during the trial.

After completion of screening, participants are followed up for at least 13 years.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 78216
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
      • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 55 years to 74 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women who at the time of randomization are less than 55 or greater than or equal to 75 years of age
• Individuals undergoing treatment for cancer at this time, excluding basal-cell and squamous-cell skin cancer

• Individuals with known prior cancer of the colon, rectum, lung, or ovary

  • This includes primary or metastatic PLCO cancers

• Individuals with previous surgical removal of the entire colon or one lung

  • Until October 1996, women with previous surgical removal of both ovaries were excluded from the trial. In order to increase the enrollment of women into the trial, beginning in October 1996, these women were no longer excluded for this reason.
• Individuals who are participating in another cancer screening or cancer primary prevention trial
• Prior to April 1, 1999 women were excluded from the trial if they were currently taking or had taken Tamoxifen or Evista\Raloxifene in the past 6 months. As of April 1999 based on a decision from the PLCO Ovary Subcommittee, women who have or are currently taking Tamoxifen or Evista\Raloxifene are not excluded from participation.
• Individuals who are unwilling or unable to sign the informed consent form
• Individuals who have had a colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or barium enema in the past three years

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Screening
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Participants receive standard medical care. Participants complete a DHQ at baseline.
Active Comparator: Ovarian Screening; Participants undergo blood sample collection for CA125 analysis at baseline annually for 5 years. Serum that is not used in the study will be stored in an NCI biorepository. Participants also undergo an OVR (discontinued in December 1998) and TVU at baseline and annually for 3 years. Participants complete a DQX at baseline and DHQ at year 3. An ADU (previously referred to as the PSH questionnaire) is mailed to each participant annually for 13 years to identify all prevalent and incident cancers of the ovaries as all deaths that occur among both screened and control subjects during the trial.	Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Correlative studies; Other: Screening Questionnaire Administration; Undergo questionnaire assessments; Procedure: Ultrasound Imaging; Undergo TVU; Other Names: Ultrasound; 2-Dimensional Grayscale Ultrasound Imaging; 2-Dimensional Ultrasound Imaging; 2D-US; Ultrasound Test; Ultrasound, Medical; US; Ultrasonography

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Ovarian Cancer Deaths (Including Primary Peritoneal and Fallopian Tube Cancers)	Ovarian cancer deaths confirmed in participants by a death review committee if available, otherwise by death certificate.	Events through 13 years of follow-up or through December 31, 2009; median follow-up 11.9 years.
Ovarian Cancer Death Rates (Including Primary Peritoneal and Fallopian Tube Cancers)	Ovarian cancer deaths confirmed in participants by a death review committee if available, otherwise by death certificate. Rate is the number of deaths divided by person years of follow-up in the study.	Events through 13 years of follow-up or through December 31, 2009; median follow-up 11.9 years.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Complications of Diagnostic Evaluation (DE) Following a Positive Screening Test	Number of positive screens with complications	One year from screening examination
Deaths From All Causes	Deaths from all causes were compared between the ovarian cancer screening arm and the usual care arm.	Events through 13 years of follow-up or through December 31, 2009; median follow-up 11.9 years.
Death Rates From All Causes	Deaths from all causes were compared between the ovarian cancer screening arm and the usual care arm. Rate is the number of deaths divided by person years of follow-up in the study.	Events through 13 years of follow-up or through December 31, 2009; median follow-up 11.9 years.
Ovarian Cancer Incidence (Including Primary Peritoneal and Fallopian Tube Cancers)	Ovarian cancer diagnoses confirmed by medical record abstraction.	Events through 13 years of follow-up or through December 31, 2009; median follow-up 11.9 years.
Ovarian Cancer Incidence Rates (Including Primary Peritoneal and Fallopian Tube Cancers).	Ovarian cancer diagnoses confirmed by medical record abstraction. Incidence rate (cumulative) defined as ovarian cancer diagnoses divided by person years at risk for ovarian cancer.	Events through 13 years of follow-up or through December 31, 2009; median follow-up 11.9 years.
T0 (Baseline) CA-125 Screening Results	Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) result.	T0 (at study entry)
T0 (Baseline) TVU Screening Results	Transvaginal Ultrasound (TVU) result.	T0 (at study entry)
T1 CA-125 Screening Results	Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) result.	T1 (one year after entry)
T1 TVU Screening Results	Transvaginal Ultrasound (TVU) result.	T1 (one year after entry)
T2 CA-125 Screening Results	Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) result.	T2 (two years after entry)
T2 TVU Screening Results	Transvaginal Ultrasound (TVU) result.	T2 (one year after entry)
T3 CA-125 Screening Results	Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) result.	T3 (three years after entry)
T3 TVU Screening Results	Transvaginal Ultrasound (TVU) result.	T3 (three years after entry)
T4 CA-125 Screening Results	Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) result.	T4 (four years after entry)
T5 CA-125 Screening Results	Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) result.	T5 (five years after entry)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Christine D Berg, National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Jiang Y, Xie Q, Chen R. Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Relation to Hormone Replacement Therapy Use Among Postmenopausal Women: Results From a Prospective Cohort Study. Clin Breast Cancer. 2022 Feb;22(2):e206-e213. doi: 10.1016/j.clbc.2021.06.010. Epub 2021 Jun 26.
• Wang K, Wu Q, Li Z, Reger MK, Xiong Y, Zhong G, Li Q, Zhang X, Li H, Foukakis T, Xiang T, Zhang J, Ren G. Vitamin K intake and breast cancer incidence and death: results from a prospective cohort study. Clin Nutr. 2021 May;40(5):3370-3378. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.11.009. Epub 2020 Nov 16.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 16, 1993
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 21, 2012
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 11, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 28, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 1, 2012
• First Posted (Estimated): October 2, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 8, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal
• Other Study ID Numbers: NCI-2012-01758 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); CDR0000078532; NCI-P93-0050; PLCO-1; PLCO-Ovarian (Other Identifier: National Cancer Institute)