Vermillion ovarian cancer test shows positive result

(Reuters) - Diagnostics company Vermillion Inc said a clinical trial of its blood test for detecting ovarian cancer showed the test had a high chance of correctly identifying patients with cancer.

Shares of the company jumped 21 percent to $2.17 on the news.

The study, named OVA1, is a blood test for pre-surgical assessment of ovarian tumors for malignancy.

The study focused on two particularly challenging subgroups - women with early-stage ovarian cancer and pre-menopausal women.

"A key goal of the study was to investigate the challenging pre-menopausal setting, where benign cysts have a high incidence and early-stage cancer often goes undetected," Chief Executive Gail Page said.

The test had a 94 percent sensitivity in the pre-menopausal group, and a 91 percent sensitivity in the early-stage ovarian cancer group.

A diagnostic test's sensitivity refers to its ability to correctly identify those who are actually affected by the disease.

Overall, the test showed a 96 percent sensitivity.

OVA1 also had a low chance of mistakenly classifying a sick person as healthy.

Vermillion shares were up 11 percent at $2 in morning trade on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)