PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles found that a DNA modification called “methylation” at a specific DNA site occurs frequently in ovarian tumors and can also be detected in the blood of ovarian cancer patients.

For years we have been looking for a reliable test to detect ovarian cancer in its earliest stages without success. This newly described methylation site was identified after researchers looked at over 27,000 different sites in the genome.

The question is whether this will end up leading to a reliable test.

It is too early to tell but research like this is what is necessary to try and get a jump on ovarian cancer. The cancer is particularly dangerous because it has vague symptoms and is often not diagnosed until late in the course of the disease.

Reported By Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio Medical Editor