The short answer
This page explains why routine ovarian cancer screening is not recommended for women at average risk, and what that means for you. It is general education, not individual medical advice.
The USPSTF (2018 final recommendation) recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in women without symptoms.
NCI reports that transvaginal ultrasound, alone or together with CA-125 blood tests, has not been shown to lower deaths from ovarian cancer.
False alarms from these tests can lead to surgery that was not needed.
This advice does not apply to people with a known high-risk inherited condition. Know the symptoms, and talk to your care team about your family history.
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This page is for anyone who has wondered why there is no routine test for ovarian cancer, the way there is a mammogram for breast cancer. It explains what the research found and what you can do instead.
What the USPSTF says
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reviewed the evidence and issued its final recommendation in February 2018. It gave a grade D. That means it recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in women who have no symptoms. The USPSTF page we checked on October 2, 2026 still lists this 2018 recommendation.
The recommendation applies to women without a known high-risk inherited condition. It is not about women who have symptoms, and it is not about women with, for example, a known BRCA gene change.
What tests have been studied
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) describes three tests that researchers have looked at:
- Pelvic exam. NCI says pelvic exams to screen for ovarian cancer have not been shown to lower deaths.
- Transvaginal ultrasound (TVU). A probe uses sound waves to look at the ovaries. It has not been shown to lower deaths.
- CA-125 blood test. CA-125 can be raised by ovarian cancer, but also by other conditions.
NCI reports that using CA-125 and ultrasound together also does not lower the number of deaths from ovarian cancer. The Task Force based its advice on large trials, including one in the United Kingdom and the U.S. PLCO trial, which found no drop in deaths from screening.
Why screening can cause harm
A screening test is only useful if its benefits outweigh its harms. With ovarian cancer screening, the harms were real. NCI explains that false-positive results can lead to surgery to check the ovaries. That surgery can cause infection, blood loss, bowel injury, and heart and blood vessel problems. Some women had one or both ovaries removed when they did not have cancer.
Because screening has not been shown to help women live longer, do not rely on a normal test to rule out ovarian cancer. If new symptoms appear, talk to your care team.
What you can do instead
Know the symptoms. Talk to your care team if you have symptoms that are new and do not go away. They are usually caused by something else, but they deserve a check. See ovarian cancer symptoms.
Know your family history. A strong history of ovarian or breast cancer, or a known inherited gene change, can raise risk. People in that group may be offered different care. Ask your care team about genetic counseling.
Keep up with the screenings that do work. A Pap or HPV test screens for cervical cancer, not ovarian cancer, but it is still important. See cervical cancer screening.
Sources
Common questions
Doesn't a Pap test check for ovarian cancer?
No. A Pap test screens for cervical cancer. It does not screen for ovarian cancer.
Why not just do a CA-125 test to be safe?
NCI explains that CA-125 can be raised by other conditions, not only cancer. In large trials, screening with CA-125 and ultrasound did not lower the number of deaths from ovarian cancer. False-positive results led some women to have surgery, including removal of the ovaries, that they did not need.
What if ovarian cancer runs in my family?
The USPSTF recommendation is for women without a known high-risk inherited condition. If you have a strong family history of ovarian or breast cancer, or a known gene change such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, talk to your care team about genetic counseling and what care fits your risk.
What should I watch for?
Talk to your care team if you have symptoms that are new and do not go away. They are usually caused by something other than cancer, but they are worth checking. Our ovarian cancer symptoms page lists the signs to know.
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Sources last checked: 2026-10-02 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-09-27
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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