Ovarian Cancer

A new international study has identified 12 new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer.

A novel compound known as PM01183 showed promising activity in a two-stage phase II trial of women with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer.

The addition of the immune therapy motolimod to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin failed to improve overall survival among women with recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma in a randomized phase II trial.

A long-term phase III trial found that maintenance chemotherapy did not improve overall survival over surveillance among women with advanced ovarian/fallopian tube/peritoneal cancer who had a complete response to first-line therapy.

Molecular expression analysis found that high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas exhibit significant alterations to cell cycle genes, DNA damage genes, and other pathways following treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

We spoke with Dr. Elizabeth Swisher about the ARIEL2 trial and the role of rucaparib in ovarian cancer.

Event-free survival was not maintained in children and adolescents with intermediate-risk malignant germ cell tumors when cisplatin-based chemotherapy was reduced from four to three cycles and compressed from 5 to 3 days per cycles.

California researchers are now suggesting that analyzing copies of genes may point to new treatments for ovarian cancer as well as for other tumor types. The researchers contend that targetable genetic changes in tumors should not be limited to mutations.

A small study found that it is feasible to detect BRCA1/2 reversion mutations in circulating cell-free DNA in patients with recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Those reversion mutations can help predict poor response to therapy in these patients.

Woman who undergo bilateral removal of ovaries at the time of hysterectomy have higher risks of all-cause mortality afterward, including hospital admission for ischemic heart disease.

An analysis of Lynch syndrome–associated ovarian cancer found that the malignancy tends to present at an early stage and has a generally good prognosis.

Women with endometrioid ovarian cancer present at a younger age and with earlier stage disease than those with serous ovarian cancer, according to a new analysis. The earlier presentation resulted in better 5- and 10-year overall survival rates as well.

The FDA granted accelerated approval to rucaparib (Rubraca), a PARP inhibitor, for the treatment of women with deleterious BRCA mutation-associated ovarian cancer.

A retrospective review showed that primary cytoreductive surgery was associated with longer survival than neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer.

Expression of mesothelium vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is associated with poorer overall and progression-free survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, according to a retrospective analysis.

The use of surveillance did not affect survival among women with stage I malignant ovarian germ cell tumors, according to a new retrospective analysis.

Adding the WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 to carboplatin offered enhanced response rates in women with TP53-mutated ovarian cancer that was refractory or resistant to first-line platinum-based therapy in a phase II study.

Adding seribantumab to paclitaxel failed to improved progression-free survival in unselected patients with platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian cancer. Expression of heregulin and HER2, however, could identify a subset of patients that derive benefit from the therapy.

The oral PARP inhibitor rucaparib showed strong activity and an acceptable safety profile in women with high-grade, BRCA-mutated ovarian carcinoma who had previously received at least two lines of chemotherapy.

The oral PARP inhibitor niraparib yielded significantly improved progression-free survival for women with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer in a phase III trial.

Here we review current guidelines on breast and ovarian cancer screening, prophylactic surgery, and other risk-reduction strategies in patients with these mutations, and we detail the data that drive these recommendations.

For some time, genetic testing has been predictive and prognostic. It is now assuming a therapeutic role as well. An example is the targeting of breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations for treatment with PARP inhibitors.

In this Medical News Minute, developed exclusively for Cancer Network, Dr. Bobby Lazzara discusses a recent study that found that surveillance with CA-125 in ovarian cancer patients led to more use of chemotherapy, decreased quality of life, and no improvement in survival.

The FDA issued a recommendation against the use of any currently available screening tests for ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer mortality rates declined significantly in several parts of the world from 2002 to 2012, according to a new study. Among the main reasons for the decline is the use of oral contraceptives, particular in the United States and European Union.

The use of telephone counseling for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer was noninferior to in-person counseling with no significant adverse effects on long-term outcomes.

This video explores a study that found telephone-based genetic counseling for women at risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers was noninferior to in-person counseling, with no significant adverse effects on long-term outcomes.

Over a 10-year period, the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy increased significantly in women with advanced ovarian cancer, according to a new observational study.

In a new practice guideline, the American Society of Clinical Oncology offered recommendations on the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and interval cytoreduction for women with stage IIIC or IV epithelial ovarian cancer.

A study found that follicle-stimulating hormone receptors are expressed in many ovarian tumors, and not in normal ovarian tissue, thus representing a promising therapeutic target.