Scientists Report Initial Success With a Blood Test for Ovarian Cancer

The test is still experimental, unavailable to the public outside of clinical trials. Its developers say it needs further study in many more women to determine whether the early findings hold up. If it does come to market, it will not be for several years, and its use might initially be limited to women at high risk. Dr. Emanuel F. Petricoin, who helped create the test, said, ''I'm all too aware as an F.D.A. scientist of promising early results that start to fail as you go into the real world.'' Ovarian cancer is not common, but it is often deadly.