Loyalty card data could help identify ovarian cancer symptoms earlier | Imperial News

Loyalty card data on over-the-counter drug purchases could help detect cases of ovarian cancer earlier, according to a study led by Imperial College London.

The study of nearly 300 women found that purchases of pain and indigestion medication were higher among women who were later diagnosed with ovarian cancer, compared to women who were not. didn’t have ovarian cancer. This change in purchases was observed eight months before the diagnosis.

The first cancer study of its kind, published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillanceexamined whether there is a link between a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and a history of purchasing over-the-counter pain and indigestion medications, such as painkillers and digestive aids like antacids.

“The cancer symptoms we look for are very common, but for some women they could be the first signs of something more serious.” Dr. James Flaganan Principal investigator of the Cancer Loyalty Card Study (CLOCS)

Symptoms of ovarian cancer may not be clear in the early stages of the disease, leading some people to buy medicine from a local pharmacy to relieve their symptoms instead of seeing a GP because they don’t think their condition is serious. These early symptoms may include loss of appetite, stomach pain, and bloating. The result is that many people with ovarian cancer are diagnosed late, often when the cancer has already spread and their likelihood of survival has decreased significantly.

Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK, with around 7,400 people diagnosed each year and over 4,000 deaths each year from the disease. One in 5 women with ovarian cancer is diagnosed in A&E and many do not receive treatment for their disease, often because they are too ill at the time of diagnosis.

The study results could help identify people at risk for ovarian cancer at an earlier stage, which is one of the most effective ways to improve survival. 93% of people diagnosed with ovarian cancer survive their disease for 5 years or more if diagnosed at the earliest stage (stage 1), compared to only 13% when diagnosed at the most advanced stage ( stage 4).

Dr. James Flagananlead author of the study, Imperial’s Department of Surgery and Cancerologysaid: “The cancer symptoms we are looking for are very common, but for some women they could be the first signs of something more serious.

“Using purchase data, our study found a notable increase in pain and indigestion medication purchases among women with ovarian cancer up to 8 months before diagnosis, compared to to women without ovarian cancer.This suggests that long before women have recognized their symptoms as alarming enough to go to the GP, they can treat them at home.

“As we know that an early diagnosis of ovarian cancer is essential to improve the chances of survival, we hope that this research can lead to earlier detection of ovarian cancer symptoms and improve treatment options. patients.”

The study – conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, UCL and the University of Birminghamfounded by Cancer research in the UK – included loyalty card data from two UK-based retailers on 273 women. Of these participants, 153 were women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 120 were women who had not. The researchers studied six years of purchase histories with women.

Participants were also asked to complete a short questionnaire about risk factors for ovarian cancer, as well as the symptoms they experienced (if any) and the number of visits to their GP during the course of the study. year prior to cancer referral or case diagnosis.

On average, participants with ovarian cancer began to recognize their symptoms about 4.5 months before diagnosis. Among those who saw a GP to have their symptoms checked, the first visit was, on average, about 3.5 months before diagnosis.

Women could participate in this study if they were over 18, agreed that their loyalty card data could be used by the researchers and agreed to complete the short questionnaire.

The researchers note that more research is needed to confirm their findings, and they hope that larger studies with patients diagnosed at different stages can support and strengthen these findings.

“It’s amazing to think that this innovative study using loyalty cards, something most of us carry in our wallets, could help women with ovarian cancer…” Dr. David Croby Head of Prevention and Early Detection Research at Cancer Research UK

It is also hoped that this research could lead to the future development of an alert system for individuals to help them seek medical attention for symptoms of cancer or other illnesses, sooner than they would otherwise.

The research team was funded by Cancer Research UK to continue this work by examining whether over-the-counter product purchases could be used in the same way for other cancers, such as stomach, liver and bladder – which usually have nonspecific symptoms.

Dr David Crosby, Head of Prevention and Early Detection Research at Cancer Research UK, said: “Today, in the digital age, we live with a wealth of data at our fingertips. Studies like this are a great example of how we can harness this information for good and help us find cancer earlier.

“It’s amazing to think that this innovative study using loyalty cards, something most of us carry in our wallets, could help women with ovarian cancer which is often diagnosed late and mimics the symptoms of other, more benign conditions.

“While further research with more patients is needed, this study indicates exciting potential for a new way to detect cancer earlier and save lives.”

Fiona Murphy, an ovarian cancer patient representative who helped develop the study, said: “I lived on Gaviscon for 18 months prior to my diagnosis of ovarian cancer. accompanied everywhere due to severe acid reflux. If it had been associated with ovarian cancer, I would have had a faster diagnosis, far fewer surgeries, and better fertility options.

“I wanted to help expand this study because I had the wrong diagnosis for almost two years. If there is a way to get an earlier diagnosis, I want to help people who are in the same situation as me.”

Fiona was diagnosed with mucinous ovarian cancer in 2008 after being symptomatic for almost 2 years. She was not one of 273 participants whose loyalty card data was used for the study.

‘Association between the purchase of over-the-counter drugs
and Diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer in the Cancer Loyalty Card Study
(CLOCS): Observational case-control study‘ by James M Flanagan et al. is published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance.

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