Naoko Sasamoto1 and Kevin M. Elias2 1Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA 2Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA Correspondence: keliasbwh.harvard.edu

The risk of death from ovarian cancer is highly associated with the clinical stage at diagnosis. Efforts to implement screening for ovarian cancer have been largely unsuccessful, due to the low prevalence of the disease in the general population and the heterogeneity of the various cancer types that fall under the ovarian cancer designation. A practical test for early detection will require both high sensitivity and high specificity to balance reducing the number of cancer deaths with minimizing surgical interventions for false positive screens. The technology must be cost-effective to deliver at scale, widely accessible, and relatively noninvasive. Most importantly, a successful early detection test must be effective not only at diagnosing ovarian cancer but also in reducing ovarian cancer deaths. Stepwise or multimodal approaches among the various areas under investigation will likely be required to make early detection a reality.