A study published Tuesday in BMJ Oncology found that 40% of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed only after a sudden emergency room admission, according to ABC News.

Instead of catching the disease through planned care, many patients arrive in crisis — severe fluid buildup or a bowel obstruction — where urgent imaging finally reveals the cancer.

The analysis covered registry data for 28,204 women, and comes as an estimated 21,010 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year, per the National Cancer Institute.

The route to diagnosis makes a stark difference: ABC News reports that women diagnosed through the emergency pathway are three times less likely to catch the disease at an early, highly curable stage compared with those diagnosed during planned doctor visits.

Because major health panels recommend against routine screening for the general public — no highly accurate screening test exists — survival depends heavily on recognizing vague warning signs.

Ovarian cancer progresses quietly, often leaving patients with no clear signal until the disease has advanced.

The study found emergency diagnoses were sharply elevated in certain groups. According to the findings, they reached 68.6% among severely frail women and 44.2% among those living in economically deprived neighborhoods, while young women aged 18 to 29 faced elevated risk at 42.7%.

Dr. Areta Bojko, a board-certified OB-GYN, told ABC News that patients with a BRCA mutation are more prone to developing ovarian cancer earlier in life, adding another layer of risk for a disease that already hides until it forces an acute crisis.

Early symptoms — mild bloating, stomach pain, and early satiety — are easy to mistake for reflux, indigestion, or constipation.

Bojko urged women to watch for abrupt changes in baseline patterns and to advocate firmly for imaging such as a pelvic ultrasound or CT scan if changes persist, telling ABC News there is 'no harm in asking for imaging.'

She also noted prevention options: women who have used oral birth control have a 30% to 50% lower risk than those who never used it.

Separately, a claims-data study reported by Managed Healthcare Executive found atopic dermatitis is far less common than survey-based estimates suggest — 1.4% of adults versus 7.3% in prior research — a reminder that prevalence studies using different methods can diverge sharply, much as ovarian cancer statistics can vary by diagnostic route.