Ovarian Cancer

October marks National Breast Cancer Awareness month, now in its 25th year, a time to contemplate important advances and milestones as well as future research needs.

Exiqon Diagnostics has begun beta testing on the PortiQo Doctor Portal, which will allow oncologists to connect directly to the company.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center scientists have targeted a protein that is overexpressed in ovarian cancer cells and used it as a molecular homing mechanism to deliver chemotherapy in preclinical models. The protein, EphA2, is attractive for molecularly targeted therapy because its overexpression is associated with poor prognosis, according to Anil K. Sood, MD, and colleagues.

Ovarian malignancies are a leading cause of cancer death in women because they are usually detected in the late stages when the disease is incurable. Encouraging new research presented by Abbott at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry annual meeting,

WASHINGTON, DC-Two separate new drug applications, for the treatment of relapsed ovarian cancer and advanced breast cancer, failed to win the approval of FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee.

Granulosa cell tumors of the testis are very rare neoplasms. While most appear to have a benign course, they occasionally metastasize.

This feature examines the case of a patient with newly diagnosed breast cancer in the setting of a first-trimester pregnancy presenting to our multidisciplinary breast cancer clinic.

Robyn was 63 years old when she was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer. After recovering from a total abdominal hysterectomy and oopherectomy, she traveled to a comprehensive cancer center to consult with a physician specializing in ovarian cancer. She took her entire collection of pathology slides and reports, laboratory and imaging study reports, and the summary of her surgical procedure.

ORLANDO-For the majority of women who undergo ovarian cancer treatment, disease relapse is a matter of when rather than if. These women could spend the rest of their lives undergoing regular CA125 serum marker testing. A recent study that compares the quality of life in early- and advanced-stage ovarian cancer survivors found that CA125 marker measurements for recurrence were, understandably, a source of anxiety for both groups.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.Previous studies have indicated that the factors associated with a decreased risk of developing ovarian cancer include fewer lifetime ovulatory cycles, higher parity, oral contraceptive use, hysterectomy and tubal ligation, according to the researchers.

DENVER-Studies at AACR 2009 demonstrated the early identification of patients who may be susceptible to various forms of leukemia and lymphoma, and hinted at therapies for prevention and treatment.

The National Functional Genomics Center has launched a consortium that will undertake two projects: A biologically-driven analysis of ovarian cancer cell lines and a trial that uses molecular profiling to target chemotherapy.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law filed a lawsuit charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer stifle research that could lead to cures and limit women’s options regarding their medical care.

Highly expensive imaging technologies are a lightning rod in today’s contentious healthcare landscape. Critics contend that imaging services are grossly overused, while supporters argue that proper use of imaging saves lives and reduces downstream cancer costs.

The right to patent human genes has long been a subject of intense debate. Critics contend that this practice infringes on human privacy and stifles scientific progress. The ACLU has finally got a case it can sink its legal teeth into: a woman who tested positive for gene predisposing her to ovarian cancer was denied access to a second opinion because of current patent law.

Desert living presents many challenges: extreme weather, lack of water, unfriendly cacti, and lethal creatures. Adaptability plus a strong survival instinct are key. David S. Alberts, MD, has plenty of both. When he relocated to the University of Arizona, he’d just finished up five years at the University of California, San Francisco, pouring his efforts into leukemia and myeloma research.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has opened a new chapter in the practice of PET with the announcement for a national Medicare payment policy that expands coverage of PET scans in the initial treatment strategy of most solid cancers and for myelo

Prostate-specific antigen testing, the most widely used screening tool in prostate cancer, has long had both critics and supporters. Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine continue to generate debate over the value of PSA screening. The papers have two major points in common: They are large-scale studies, and they leave more questions than answers.

Numerous preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated a role for angiogenesis in the growth and progression of breast cancer. Elevated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels have been demonstrated in association with poor outcomes, and thus, this finding is an attractive target for therapeutic intervention.

Ms. D is a 45-year-old woman with ovarian cancer and hepatic metastatic disease. She has received multimodal treatment over the past 5 years. Ms. D lives in her own home, is divorced, and is a single parent of two adolescent children. Her mother is her primary caregiver and also has a deteriorating health condition.

Barbara Goff, MD, has been selected by the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund to lead the Ovarian Cancer Symptoms Study. The appointment was made at the 2009 Gynecologic Oncologists Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer in San Antonio.

Bill, 53 years old and a 3-year survivor of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, reflects on his ongoing journey as a cancer survivor: “I was very sick and treatment was very rough, complete with a severe allergic reaction that was difficult to diagnose for a long time. But I made it through to the other shore…remission. Since then, I’ve been trying to rebuild a new life…Living with an 18-year-old [son], I can see how in some ways I’m in a parallel universe…Both of us are looking out at the world before us, at all the many possible options...trying to figure out what we want tomorrow to look like.

A high intake of meat and fat may increase the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, according to a study out of Australia. However, women who feasted on fruit and vegetables exhibited a reduced risk.

SAN FRANCISCO-In a debate session at the 2008 Oncology Congress, neither speaker advocated maintenance therapy as the standard of care in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who achieve a complete clinical remission. But the “pro” speaker, Thomas J. Herzog, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, argued that the evidence in favor of maintenance therapy is strong enough that it should be discussed with these patients as an option, while the “con” speaker, Robert L. Coleman, MD, of Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, called the evidence “premature.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Improved understanding in the molecular biology and genetics of lung cancer has resulted in the identification of individual genes, gene expression profiles, and molecular pathways that may be useful for clinical management decisions.

Piver gives his perspective on the management of epithelial ovarian cancer in the elderly. This subject has been dealt with previously by numerous authors, with a general consensus that advancing age is an independent negative prognostic factor when multivariate statistics are applied to the multiple parameters affecting outcome

Dr. Piver presents a personal look at the issues he believes to be important in managing ovarian carcinoma in the elderly patient. He begins with an attempt to define elderly.

Omer Kucuk, MD, has joined Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta as professor of hematology and medical oncology. Dr. Kucuk conducted the earliest clinical trials on soy and lycopene supplements in prostate cancer treatment. He was previously at the Karmanos Cancer Center at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Ortho Biotech recently announced the submission of a new drug application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for trabectedin (Yondelis) when administered in combination with liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) for the treatment of women with relapsed ovarian cancer.

SAN FRANCISCO-The “preponderance of the evidence” supports intraperitoneal chemotherapy as the preferred treatment for small-volume residual ovarian cancer after surgical debulking, Robert S. Mannel, MD, said at a debate session of the 2008 Oncology Congress. J. Tate Thigpen, MD, who took the con side of the debate, argued that IP chemotherapy remains experimental because of flaws in the design of the three major trials of IP therapy and its “formidable toxicity.”