PROMISE stands for Predicting Risk of Ovarian Malignancies, Improved Screening and Early detection. 

This seven-year international research project, which finished in 2019, aimed to halve deaths from ovarian cancer in the UK and beyond. It aimed to do this by identifying at risk populations and improving methods for detecting ovarian cancer.   

Women diagnosed with stage 1 or 2 ovarian cancer have a 90% chance of survival. But 70% of women are diagnosed at stage 3 or 4.  

Key aims of PROMISE: 

1. Develop and validate methods for predicting risk of ovarian cancer 

2. Develop and validate methods for earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer 

3. Develop an accurate, economically and socially viable method for screening appropriate populations for ovarian cancer 

Project funding  

The total cost of this project was £3,200,000 over a seven-year period. Thanks to your support, The Eve Appeal was the single largest funders, having raised £1.65 million for the project. 

PROMISE was an international collaboration, under the direction of Professor Ian Jacobs at the University of Manchester. Work was carried out across four other universities:  UCL, University of Cambridge, The University of Southern California and Harvard Medical School. 

Feasibility Study 

The ‘Predicting Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Improved Screening and Early detection’ (PROMISE) ‘Feasibility Study’ (FS), aims to:

1. evaluate the possibility of offering all women and people with gynae organs with the opportunity to find out about their risk of developing ovarian cancer 

2. offer early detection and preventive options to patients at an increased risk.  

Participants  

Women over 18 years who had not had ovarian cancer, tubal cancer, primary peritoneal cancer or a genetic test looking for gene alterations that increase the risk of ovarian cancer were eligible to participate in this study.  

Participants were asked to provide health related information and a blood sample for genetic testing for known ovarian cancer genes.  

The genetic test results and health information were used in a specially developed algorithm to predict a woman’s ovarian cancer risk. Women who were found to be at intermediate, or high risk were offered options of screening (early detection) and prevention through a specialist clinic at Barts Health NHS trust.