A test being developed in Queensland, Australia could help to reduce the high mortality rate from ovarian cancer by dramatically improving the accuracy of early detection.

University of Queensland (UQ) researchers said the test had successfully detected more than 90 per cent of early ovarian cancer compared to 50 per cent for existing methods.

Project leader Associate Professor Carlos Salomon Gallo said results validated in 500 patients were extremely encouraging.

“The capacity of our method to identify positive cases suggests it could be an ideal first-line test for population screening,” Dr Salomon Gallo said.

The project has received $2.7 million from the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to validate the method in a larger cohort of patients and for clinical implementation.

The test developed at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research targets tiny ‘bubbles’ produced by cells – exosomes.

The project also involves experts from National University Hospital, Singapore, and Australian National University.