Read our Privacy noticeA new ovarian cancer surveillance test is now being offered to women with an inherited risk of the disease, marking a significant development in care. Women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations face a significantly higher risk of developing both ovarian and breast cancer. The new test, called the risk of ovarian cancer algorithm (Roca), calculates a woman’s individual risk based on factors such as blood levels of the protein cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) over time, age, menopausal status, and the presence of BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene alterations. open image in gallery The new test is called risk of ovarian cancer algorithm (Roca), which calculates a woman’s individual risk of developing ovariancancer based on several factors ( Alamy/PA )Having the Roca blood test every four months has been shown to dramatically cut the chance of being diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, which often has no or few symptoms. Women who carry a cancer-causing variant in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have 44 per cent and 17 per cent respectively lifetime risk of ovarian cancer.