Just last Thursday, Fox News reported that a study which was published in The Lancet focused on 200,000 post-menopausal women within the ages of 50 to 74 for a span of 14 years. The studies revealed that 1,280 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and by the time the trial ended in December 2014, around 650 women died of ovarian cancer

The screening process called ROCA (Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm) is responsible for detecting CA125, or changes in blood protein levels. The CA125 is a variable being linked to ovarian cancer. As per Fox News, researchers are continually digging deeper into studying the ROCA test and its changing levels over time. The researchers also need ample time as they need a more "precise" reading of CA125 to compare it with the one-off blood test which is capable of measuring a fixed "cut-off" point for the protein.

As per the research, those women who underwent the new annual screening program for ovarian cancer were able to decrease their risk of dying compared to those individuals who didn't undergo the blood testing, as reported by FOX News. It was then added that the screening program could be a great leap in ovarian cancer prevention. 15 ovarian cancer deaths could be prevented for every 10,000 women that are being screened annually within 7 to 11 years.

As per BBC, authors of the study and ovarian cancer experts encouraged extreme caution. The Cancer Research U.K.'s head of population, Dr. Fiona Reddington, stated that their preliminary results revealed promising outputs. Reddington and her team would continue focusing on ovarian cancer testing, specifically, the death rates caused by the cancer over the next three years.

"It's uncertain whether or not screening can reduce ovarian cancer deaths overall," Reddington, who wasn't involved in the study, said in the release. "While this is an important step in ovarian cancer research, we would not recommend a national screening program at this point."

The clinical lead for cancer genetics at Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Adam Shaw stated that though the results were a huge step in preventing ovarian cancer deaths, more work needs to be done in terms of rolling it out for public use.

"Nonetheless, this study is a landmark step in devising effective screening for ovarian cancer, which is often portrayed as the silent killer."

In addition to Fox News' report, Ian Jacobs, president and vice-chancellor of UNSW Australia and an honorary professor at University College London, who co-invented ROCA, stated that longer follow up regarding the research is needed.

"This brings hope in the fight against a disease for which the outlook for women is poor and has not improved much during the last three decades."