ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING EARLY DETECTION OF OVARIAN CANCER WITH TUMOR MARKER AS FIRST – LINE TEST AMONG NURSING STUDENT

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of ovarian cancer symptoms and, in particular, the usefulness and limitations of the tumor marker CA-125 among nursing students. This study, using a descriptive research design, assessed 100 final-year nursing students' knowledge about ovarian cancer and the tumor marker CA-125 using a structured questionnaire on a knowledge assessment scale with positive sampling. In general knowledge of ovarian cancer, 45% of students were found at the "Mild Knowledge" level. Whereas, regarding the CA-125 marker, 67% of students were in the "Mild Knowledge" category and only 6% reached the "High Knowledge" level. Most students consider it a definitive screening test and are unaware of "False Positive" results that can occur in benign conditions (periods/endometriosis). A major misconception among most students was that the CA-125 is a definitive screening tool, while they were completely unaware of its 'false positive' symptoms—such as increased menstruation, endometriosis, and PID. This suggests that updating the current nursing curriculum to modern diagnostic standards is essential. This implies that a revision in the current nursing curriculum towards the contemporary diagnostic standards is necessary. Specialized training in future should be on the basis of sophisticated markers like the HE4 and ROMA Index and symptom-based triage to facilitate the proper counseling of patients and effective intervention within the clinical environment.