* Researchers are studying a family of substances called lysophospholipids, or LPA, that might serve as an accurate blood marker for the disease. A pilot study published in 1998 showed that LPA levels were elevated in women with various stages of ovarian cancer.

There is currently no reliable early detection test for ovarian cancer. The CA 125 blood test is sometimes given to women at high risk. But the test has a high error rate, and the LPA test could render it unnecessary. When the disease is detected early--which happens in only one in four women--the five-year survival rate is more than 90%. Survival rates plunge to about 50% when the disease is detected at an advanced stage.