Ovarian Cancer

When the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for breast and ovarian cancers were first identified and a screening blood test became available, a debate ensued as to whether there was an advantage to learning one’s risk. Recently, the value of such testing was demonstrated in a study in women who were followed after being identified as carriers of a BRCA genetic mutation. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have provided strong evidence that breast and ovarian cancers can be detected at an early stage in women at highest hereditary risk. Results of the study were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (20:1260-1268, 2002).

BETHESDA, Maryland-A National Cancer Institute (NCI) panel has declared the creation of a Virtual Shared Specimen Resource (VSSR) to be "absolutely necessary for advancing the detection, classification, and treatment of gynecologic cancer."

Among the most exciting new anticancer products presented at the 2001 ASCO meeting were new drugs that block the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). About 30% to 90% of carcinomas express high levels of EGFR. These include, among others, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and bladder cancer.

WASHINGTON-In recent years online chat rooms and list servers devoted to a vast array of special interests have become a staple of American life. Now a pilot project has shown that an internet support group significantly benefits women coping with breast cancer, said Mitch Golant, PhD, vice president of research and development for The Wellness Community (TWC) National, Santa Monica, California.

BETHESDA, Maryland-A new proteomics blood test for ovarian cancer (developed by researchers at the joint Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health Clinical Proteomics Program) detected all 50 ovarian cancers in a proof-of-principal trial and is now being validated in a major study of recurrence in stage III/IV ovarian cancer.

WASHINGTON-Knowledge, research, and education alone will not end the cancer disparities among American populations, said numerous speakers at the opening session of the 8th Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer, presented by the Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC) and jointly sponsored by Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

Treating recurrent ovarian cancer requires a new perspective on the disease and the objectives of therapy, according to Deborah K. Armstrong, MD, assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

NEW YORK-The combination of gemcitabine (Gemzar) and a potent, novel topoisomerase-1 inhibitor similar to irinotecan (Camptosar) is safe, has predictable toxicities, and has demonstrated significant antitumor activity in a variety of solid malignancies, according to results of a 70-patient phase I/pharmacokinetic study.

NEW YORK-Liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) may be essentially equivalent to topotecan (Hycamtin) as second-line therapy for ovarian cancer, but the combination of the two may have more promise than either agent alone, according to preliminary results of a phase I study.

NEW YORK-Repeated low-dose administration of amifostine (Ethyol) is being studied in a randomized, multi-center, community-based trial in an attempt to prevent neurotoxicity caused by platinum-based chemotherapy.David Alberts, MD, and Martee Hensley, MD, discussed the new study at the Ethyol Emerging Neuropathy Trial Investigator Meeting.

CHICAGO-Preoperative helical computed tomography (CT) can improve the management of women with recurrent ovarian cancer by identifying disease that cannot be resected in secondary cytoreductive surgery, said Stacey A. Funt, MD, assistant attending radiologist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Chemotherapy-induced toxicities often adversely affect patients’ health and treatment plans, and can result in large costs for treatment and care. In addition to the costs associated with direct medical care, a large amount of indirect and out-of-pocket costs can be incurred.

In this day of encyclopedic oncology texts, frequently updated online reference sites, and literature searches at the click of a button, is there a place for a basic medical oncology textbook? The second edition of the Textbook of Medical Oncology, edited by Drs. Cavalli, Hansen, and Kaye, is approximately 50% longer than the first edition, due in large part to the inclusion of newer therapeutic approaches.

NEW YORK-A monoclonal antibody with high affinity for an ovarian tumor-associated antigen has shown promising activity in preliminary results from a large phase III study, said Jonathan S. Berek, MD, chief of the Division of Gynecology

LISBON, Portugal-Adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improves the outlook for women with high-risk early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer, according to the findings of two parallel, randomized phase III trials presented at the 11th European Cancer Conference (ECCO abstract 1019).

Solomon et al have written a valuable primer to guide clinicians in identifying, diagnosing, and treating familial colon cancer syndromes. The authors succinctly describe the essential features of each of the well-defined hereditary colon cancer syndromes, including those associated with colonic adenomas (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer [HNPCC] and familial adenomatous polyposis [FAP]) and colonic hamartomas (Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, juvenile polyposis, and Cowden syndrome). In addition to the specific features that might trigger recognition of one of these syndromes, we advise health-care providers to consider the possibility of hereditary cancer in cases with the following features:

Management of Patients at High Risk for Breast Cancer, edited by Victor G. Vogel, MD, is designed for all physicians involved in breast cancer risk assessment and prevention. It does not assume a baseline familiarity with cancer risk

The effect of a patient’s race or ethnicity on cancer incidence and mortality rates remains a neglected area of cancer research. However, with cancer statistics differing among various populations, research on racial and ethnic groups could provide clues to cancer trends.

The population dynamics of cellular entry, traverse, and exit, through and from each phase of the cell cycle is coordinated throughout the day in the tissue of the human body. This coordination is particularly robust-ie, the daily peaks and valleys are particularly high and low-in tissues with the greatest average daily cellular proliferation. These tissues are also the most severely damaged by cancer treatments, most prominently cytotoxic drugs and ionizing irradiation.

NEW YORK CITY-Weekly irinotecan (Camptosar) and cisplatin (Platinol) can be successfully given as first-line treatment to women with advanced ovarian cancer. The toxicity is manageable, and some patients with suboptimally resected disease achieved an extended disease-free survival, David Spriggs, MD, reported. He is chief of the Developmental Chemotherapy Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) inaugurated a new program in July that

BMS-247550 is a methyl, semi-synthetic analog of the natural product epothilone B. Provided to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) by Bristol-Myers Squibb, BMS-247550 was chosen for clinical development because it demonstrated

Advances in molecular virology and biotechnology have led to the engineering of vectors that can efficiently transfer genes to target cells. Gene therapy strategies were developed along two lines: Cytotoxic approaches

In part I of this series, we identified currently active clinical trials that include health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes as a primary or secondary objective of the overall study (Trimble EL et al: ONCOLOGY 15:601-611, 2001). The goal of this

Advances in molecular virology and biotechnology have led to the engineering of vectors that can efficiently transfer genes to target cells. Gene therapy strategies were developed along two lines: Cytotoxic approaches

HOUSTON, Texas-David M. Gershenson, MD, painted a bleak picture of current treatment for advanced ovarian cancer and suggested that new agents such as topoisomerase inhibitors should be studied further in clinical trials. Dr. Gershenson said that although CA-125 and transvaginal ultrasound are used for screening, they have limited efficacy, with the result that over 70% of ovarian cancers have already spread beyond the ovary by the time they are detected.

Promising interim results of a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of the monoclonal antibody OvaRex in 345 patients with

At the 37th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, investigators from the Scottish Gynaecologic

SAN FRANCISCO-More than four out of 10 cancer patients received chemotherapy during their last year of life, according to a study of Medicare patients in Massachusetts. Even a proportion of patients with tumors considered unresponsive to chemotherapy received treatments within 1 month of their death.

SAN FRANCISCO-Preliminary data from an uncontrolled pilot study suggest that levocarnitine (L-Carnitine, Carnitor) supplementation can reduce fatigue in some patients. Francesco Graziano, MD, found that 87% of patients given levocarnitine 4 g/day po for 7 days reported reduced fatigue. Dr. Graziano is in the medical oncology department at the Hospital of Urbino, Italy.