ENGLAND — A study published on July 7, 2026, in BMJ Oncology found that over 40% of ovarian cancer cases in England were diagnosed following an emergency hospital admission. This diagnostic pathway was linked to later-stage disease and demographic disparities among adult women.

The study analyzed national cancer registry data for 28,204 adult women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in England between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021. Among these, 11,377 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer within 28 days of an emergency hospital admission. Women diagnosed after an emergency admission were three times less likely to have early stage and potentially curable disease compared to those not diagnosed via an emergency admission.

Demographic factors showed specific patterns related to emergency diagnoses. Among 3,372 women classified with severe frailty, 2,313, or nearly 69%, were diagnosed after an emergency admission. In contrast, among 9,912 women not categorized as frail, 2,891, or 29%, received their diagnosis after an emergency admission. Emergency admission was 36% more likely for women aged 18 to 29, with 209 of 493 women in this age group diagnosed this way.

For women aged 80 and older, diagnosis after an emergency admission was 25% more likely, accounting for 2,952 of 5,379 women in this cohort. Just over 36% of women in their 60s, specifically 2,319 of 6,402, were diagnosed after an emergency admission. Women from the most deprived neighborhoods were 11% more likely to be diagnosed after an emergency admission than those from the least deprived areas; 2,377 of 5,823 women from the most deprived neighborhoods, representing just over 44%, were diagnosed after an emergency admission, while 2,367 of 6,261 women from the least deprived neighborhoods, representing 38%, were.

Among 8,438 women with available stage information who were diagnosed after an emergency admission, 1,155, or 14%, had early stage 1 or 2 cancers. For women not diagnosed after an emergency admission, 5,442 of 13,865, just over 39%, had early stage cancers. Women diagnosed after an emergency admission were also three times less likely to have slow-growing tumors, with 958 of 2,224 (14.5%) having such tumors, compared to 2,892 of 11,946 (just over 24%) of women not admitted as an emergency.

Study researchers noted that younger women had a higher risk of receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis after an emergency admission. "The risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer after an emergency admission was higher in younger women, despite having higher rates of early stage low grade cancers," study researchers stated. They also indicated that ovarian cancer shares several symptoms with common benign conditions, which makes diagnosis difficult. The researchers stated that this diagnostic issue affects countries such as the USA, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Canada, and New Zealand, with rates ranging from approximately 20% to 50%.

Study researchers called for a coordinated effort to improve diagnostic pathways. "Concerted action, where possible with support from international collaborations, is needed to improve referral and diagnostic pathways, with a focus on increasing patient awareness, improving early recognition of alarm symptoms, handling the prioritisation of waiting lists, and developing efficient diagnostic pathways that can provide a timely service to the many women with non-specific symptoms," they said.