David Fishman, MD, a specialist in gynecologic oncology at Northwestern Memorial, is the director of Northwestern s Ovarian Cancer Early Detection Program. Dr. Fishman and a consortium of basic and clinical scientists and institutions have embarked on a clinical research study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, to improve current methods and evaluate other newly developed molecular, genetic and biochemical tests to detect early-stage ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women. Dr. Fishman is the principal investigator for this study, which will be conducted at Northwestern and 17 other sites in the United States and Canada. Ovarian cancer kills more American women than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. It is often called the killer that whispers because about 75 percent of women with the disease go undiagnosed until their cancer has progressed to an advanced, fatal stage.
Most women die within five years.
But if detected in its early stage, about 95 percent of patients will survive five years or more. Northwestern Memorial is the primary teaching hospital of Northwestern University Medical School and is widely recognized as one of the nation s preeminent medical centers. Since 1992, Northwestern Memorial has been ranked No. 1 by the people of Chicago as their most preferred hospital, according to studies by the National Research Corporation. The studies rank Northwestern Memorial as having the best doctors, best nurses and most personalized care.