Ovarian Cysts and Pregnancy Tests: What You Need to Know

Question
Hi, my name is Amber, Im 16 and I havent had a period since 12/31/05. I read in one of your answers that you said that an ovarian cyst can not effect a pregnancy test result. I was just wondering what the paper that comes with the test means then because it says that if you have a ovarian cyst, that you can get misleading results from the pregnancy test. Thank You
Amber Nikole!

Answer
Certain rare ovarian cysts produce hormones that can interfere with a pregnancy test. However, normally, a pregnancy test is merely a test for the presence of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropic hormone), which is found in pregnancy. If HCG is present, you are pregnant. If it is not present, you are not pregnant (unless you took the test too early and it HCG has not built up sufficiently). For all intents and purposes, if the pregnancy test is positive, you are pregnant (whether you have an ovarian cyst or not).