Cleveland Clinic's New Blood Test Could Catch Ovarian Cancer Before It Spreads

A Cancer That Hides — Until It's Too Late

Theresia Oreskovic has heard the words "you have cancer" more than once. At 78, the Avon Lake, Ohio, jeweler first received a breast cancer diagnosis in her late 50s. Then, nearly two decades later, cancer came back into her life in a different, more frightening way — ovarian cancer. By the time doctors recognized what it was, it was already Stage 3. Now she's watching closely as Cleveland Clinic researchers work on a test that might have changed everything for her — and could change everything for her daughters.

Unlike breast and cervical cancers, there is currently no effective routine screening test for ovarian cancer, which means the disease can be difficult to catch early. That gap in medicine has had devastating consequences for decades. More than 70% of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when survival is poor. The cruel irony is that timing is almost everything with this disease: women who are diagnosed in the earliest stages have a cure rate of more than 90 percent, yet most women never get that chance.

The "Mighty Study" and What It's Testing

The ongoing "Mighty Study" at Cleveland Clinic looks at women who are at an increased risk for ovarian cancer, including those with mutated genes or a family history of cancer, according to gynecologic oncologist Dr. Kevin Elias. Dr. Elias is a physician-scientist whose research focuses on finding better ways to detect ovarian cancer early, when it is most treatable, and he serves as the Lilli and Seth Harris Endowed Chair for Ovarian Cancer Research at Cleveland Clinic.

His research employs advanced techniques such as blood-based microRNA biomarkers and artificial intelligence to identify at-risk individuals and improve diagnostic accuracy. This kind of approach represents a significant evolution from the existing CA-125 blood test, which has long been the standard tool — but has serious limitations. The CA-125 test alone doesn't diagnose or detect cancer, and many noncancerous conditions can raise CA-125 levels. Researchers are now trying to build something far more precise.

The Stakes Are Enormous

The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 118,000 Americans will be diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer this year, and roughly 34,500 will die. Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest contributors to that toll. When detected early while the disease remains localized, nearly 90% of women survive for 10 years or more. But the window to catch it early is narrow — and right now, medicine has no reliable way to find it in time for most patients.

Newer blood-based approaches are showing real promise in the broader research landscape. A follow-up study building on CA-125 research has shown that a new combination blood test can detect ovarian cancer with even more remarkable accuracy — even in its earliest stages — using a combination of lipidomics, protein biomarkers, and machine learning algorithms to analyze a single blood sample. Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at late stages because symptoms are frequently vague and overlap with other conditions, which makes a reliable blood-based screen all the more critical.

A Personal Mission, a Universal Need

Theresia Oreskovic hopes this blood test could one day give her four daughters something she never had: an earlier warning and more time to fight. That sentiment captures exactly why this research matters beyond the lab. Doctors say ovarian cancer mainly affects older adults, with about half of all women diagnosed being 63 years of age or older. But the absence of a screening standard means younger women with genetic risk factors are also left without answers.

Dr. Elias has noted there are a number of early detection and cancer screening trials he has been wanting to bring to Cleveland Clinic, and he hopes to make it a destination for both patients and industry collaborators. If the Mighty Study and similar research succeed, the result could be a routine blood draw — simple, accessible, potentially life-saving — that finally gives ovarian cancer the early-detection tool it has lacked for generations. For women like Theresia, and the daughters who come after her, that would be everything.