About the Disarm Project
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of female cancers, with survival rates remaining low worldwide and incidence on the rise. The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition has identified ovarian cancer as a global health priority, calling attention to regional inequalities in access to prevention and care.
Despite advances in research, reliable early detection tools remain limited, and advanced multifactorial risk assessment models are currently not used in clinical practices. Because of these shortcomings, many cases of ovarian cancer are therefore diagnosed at a late stage — earning ovarian cancer the name “silent killer.” These challenges highlight the urgent need for improved risk assessment, earlier detection, and greater investment in ovarian cancer research.
Scientific Background
Around 20% of ovarian cancer cases are linked to inherited genetic factors, most commonly pathogenic variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2, which can carry up to a 46% lifetime risk. While germline genetic testing has enhanced prevention and treatment strategies, there remains a strong need for more personalised risk assessments to guide interventions.
Current screening methods, such as transvaginal ultrasound and CA-125 biomarker testing, have limited sensitivity and specificity. For women with a genetic predisposition, ongoing monitoring and preventive surgeries can significantly impact quality of life, creating physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Addressing these gaps through innovative tools and data-driven approaches is essential to transform ovarian cancer management.
Ovarian Cancer Risk Assessment
Identifying women at increased risk of ovarian cancer is the first step toward prevention and tailored care. Traditionally, risk assessment has relied on family history and genetic testing, but these methods provide broad estimates that can be difficult to act on and emotionally challenging for patients.
To address this, multifactorial models such as BOADICEA, implemented through the CanRisk tool, combine genetic, lifestyle, demographic, and hormonal factors along with polygenic risk scores (PRS) to generate more personalised and precise estimates. CanRisk has been widely validated and endorsed by international clinical guidelines.
Through a clinical study across Portugal, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Greece, DISARM will test the feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of integrating CanRisk into routine healthcare. By embedding the tool within existing clinical pathways for women undergoing predictive genetic testing, the project aims to accelerate the adoption of multifactorial personalised ovarian cancer risk assessment across Europe.
Supporting this effort, DISARM will also deploy the OVA-ONLINE digital tool, a platform for genetic counselling and patient support
This DISARM pillar will empower both women and healthcare professionals with more informed, data-driven insights for ovarian cancer prevention and management.
Ovarian Cancer Early Detection
Early detection has the potential to transform ovarian cancer management — helping avoid or delay invasive preventive surgeries and improving survival outcomes. Current approaches, such as the CA-125 biomarker, lack the sensitivity and specificity needed for reliable early detection.
DISARM is pioneering a multi-analyte approach to early detection, testing innovative, minimally invasive liquid biopsy assays across more than 2,000 women in five countries (the UK, Portugal, Lithuania, Czech Republic, and Greece). Its diagnostic portfolio includes:
- OVA-GLY – a glycoprotein-based blood serum test using an innovative nanoparticle platform
- OVA-VOC – detection of patterns of volatile organic compounds from blood plasma
- OVA-miRNA –blood plasma based circulating miRNA signatures
Furthermore, through the OVA-MULTIMODAL digital tool, DISARM will combine diverse biomarker data to improve accuracy and reliability.
To support translation into healthcare systems, OVA-VIEW, an interactive policy support dashboard, will enable decision-makers to explore findings and regional trends. This marks the first large-scale, multi-country study of its kind, designed not only to validate innovative diagnostics but also to address the social, ethical, and funding considerations that will be key to real-world adoption.
DISARM’s Four Pillars
DISARM is built on four interconnected pillars, combining clinical and technological research and innovation, with social research and stakeholder engagement to deliver solutions that are effective, accessible, and appropriate for adoption in routine healthcare.
Impact
By combining cutting-edge science, digital innovation, and stakeholder engagement, DISARM aims to improve outcomes for women at risk of ovarian cancer and strengthen healthcare systems across Europe. This will be achieved in fulfilment of DISARM’s three core expected outcomes (EO).
EO1: Empowering people and families at genetic risk
DISARM aims to improve the lives of people and families with a hereditary risk of ovarian cancer through personalised, accessible, and affordable early detection and risk assessment. The project advances both risk prediction and diagnostic innovation, testing the integration of the CanRisk tool in healthcare systems across several European countries and validating a suite of minimally invasive detection technologies. These diagnostic assays can support early detection of both sporadic and heritable cancers, or with particular significance in the context of surveillance programmes for high-risk individuals. Together with digital tools like OVA-Online for genetic counselling, these solutions will help clinicians offer more precise, tailored prevention strategies.
By combining scientific innovation with real-world healthcare insights, DISARM seeks to make early detection and personalised risk assessment standard practice, improving health outcomes and quality of life.
EO2: Engaging society, advocates, foundations and innovators
DISARM fosters collaboration among civil society, patient advocates, foundations, and industry innovators to co-create, support, and scale early detection programmes. Patient advocacy organisations play a central role in awareness-raising and in shaping solutions that reflect patient needs.
The project’s social science research and outreach activities strengthen these connections and encourage partnerships between healthcare providers, policymakers, and the private sector.
Through a strong exploitation and IPR strategy, DISARM also creates opportunities for the commercialisation of diagnostic and digital health innovations, supporting long-term sustainability and broader impact across Europe.
EO3: Supporting policymakers in implementation
DISARM works closely with regional and national health authorities to create a realistic roadmap for integrating early detection and risk assessment solutions into healthcare systems.
Key activities include analysing healthcare system needs, exploring innovative funding and reimbursement models, investigating requirements for socially effective strategies, and addressing regulatory and ethical barriers. The project’s outcomes will provide evidence-based guidance for scaling up early detection programmes and informing future national policies and legislative actions in ovarian cancer prevention and care.