Ovarian Cancer

Taxanes are the most active drugs in the treatment of metastatic breast and ovarian cancer. Weekly therapy with paclitaxel produces notable activity, with remarkably low toxicity.

The Second Annual Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center Health Policy Symposium, held last year in Chicago, was entitled “Cancer, Reaching Medically Underserved Populations: Low Literacy and Culturally Specific Barriers.”This is the fourth in a series of reports on the conference presentations, prepared for ONI by researchers at Northwestern Medical School, that will put the discussions into a broader context. This month’s article reviews a presentation by Chanita Hughes, PhD, Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Cancer Center, Washington, DC.

BETHESDA, Md-The National Cancer Institute has launched a randomized, 3,000-person study to determine the feasibility of doing a larger scale trial to test whether spiral CT screening improves lung cancer survival. Six centers began recruiting volunteers in early September and hope to enroll 500 subjects each by the end of October.

NEW ORLEANS-In women undergoing second-line therapy for advanced ovarian cancer after failure of a platinum-based regimen, paclitaxel (Taxol) alone was as effective as epiru-bicin (Ellence) plus paclitaxel. Valter Torri, MD, coordinator of clinical trials, Mario Negri Institute, Milan, Italy, presented the research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

CHICAGO-Advances in cancer screening, prevention, and treatment have led to decreased cancer incidence and mortality. However, the benefits of new early detection measures and treatment options are not shared equally among ethnic minorities and the medically underserved, and disparities in cancer morbidity and mortality remain.

Thrombocytopenia occurs at various grades of severity in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies undergoing chemotherapy with myelosuppressive agents. Frequently, it is the major dose-limiting hematologic toxicity, especially in the treatment of potentially curable malignancies such as leukemia, lymphomas, and pediatric cancers.

Placebo-controlled clinical trials of recombinant human interleukin-11 (rhIL-11, also known as oprelvekin [Neumega]) in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies have demonstrated significant efficacy in preventing postchemotherapy

NEW ORLEANS-Treatments combining irinotecan (Camptosar) with other drugs are active and well-tolerated in patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic and ovarian cancer, according to two reports presented at the 36th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a novel, shorter administration regimen for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s paclitaxel (Taxol) injection for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. The FDA granted approval for this new

PRINCETON, NJ-Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced in a press release that the FDA has approved a novel, shorter administration regimen for Taxol (paclitaxel) injection for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. The new 3-hour regimen offers patients the advantage of administration in an outpatient setting.

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is being utilized increasingly for benign diseases. Recent published series have proven that morbidity and mortality from laparoscopic procedures are superior to those seen after traditional open

Intestinal obstruction in the patient with ovarian cancer is a difficult situation for both patient and physician. In women presenting with ovarian cancer, obstruction is almost never complete.

Drs. Randall and Rubin address three subjects important to all patients with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer: (1) the incidence and annual mortality associated with the disease, (2) the use of intestinal surgery at the time of initial surgery, and (3) the use of surgery for intestinal obstruction in patients with recurrent (or progressive) ovarian cancer. I believe that progress in all three areas has been made, albeit slowly.

In their excellent review of intestinal obstruction in women with advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer, Drs. Randall and Rubin indicate that median survivals and quality of life for these patients have improved substantially. Data from the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO)[1] and the National Cancer Institute’s Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program[2] indicate that the 5-year disease-free survival for advanced-stage disease has risen over the past several decades from approximately 5% to 20%. Therefore, the palliation of intestinal obstruction secondary to metastatic ovarian cancer has become a more urgent issue. The management of recurrent or chronic intestinal obstruction is often complex, and the authors have carefully substantiated issues related to this complication of the malignancy.

Authors Thomas Randall, MD, and Stephen Rubin, MD, provide a thoughtful, state-of-the-art discussion on current controversies in the management of intestinal obstruction in patients with ovarian cancer.

DALLAS-Doxorubicin encapsulated in liposomes (Doxil) and topotecan (Hycamtin) were equally effective in women with relapsed ovarian cancer, but had different toxicities, according to results presented at the 36th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

ASCO-Although paclitaxel (Tax-ol) plus cisplatin (Platinol) as initial therapy for ovarian cancer cost a good deal more than cyclophosphamide plus cisplatin, it is cost-effective by the usually accepted guidelines, said Hugh Walker, PhD, a health economist at the National Cancer Institute of Canada’s Clinical Trials Unit, Kingston, Ontario.

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom-Early trials of Iressa (ZD1839), a novel anticancer compound, reveal encouraging antitumor activity and disease stabilization, according to reports presented at the ASCO meeting.

ASCO-In contrast to many recent studies, the ICON3 trial finds that paclitaxel (Taxol) plus carboplatin (Paraplatin) is no more effective than other chemotherapy regimens as first-line therapy of ovarian cancer. ICON3-the Third International Collaborative Ovarian Neoplasm study-is an international multicenter trial involving 2,074 women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer requiring chemotherapy.

LINKOPING, Sweden-The optimal schedule for dosing paclitaxel (Taxol) has not been determined. However, a study that compared two dosing schedules with the same dose intensity in ovarian cancer patients found equivalent efficacy, with somewhat varying toxicities.

NEW YORK-Prolonged topotecan (Hycamtin) infusion combined with cisplatin (Platinol) is an effective first-line therapy for ovarian cancer, with almost all patients in a recent study responding.

The search for new combination chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of non–small-cell lung cancer is motivated not only by the desire to increase the objective tumor response and survival rates, but also by the desire

Cross-sectional imaging of the abdomen in oncology patients presents unique challenges and opportunities. A close working relationship between the oncologist and radiologist is essential for the exchange of the clinical and

AstraZeneca has announced the launch of a new website that will help keep researchers and physicians up to date on

SAN DIEGO-Doses of topotecan (Hycamtin) one third lower than the label recommends are still effective as ovarian cancer salvage therapy and cause much less hematologic toxicity, Michael Rodriguez, MD, reported at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO).

The results of a new study demonstrate that one-third of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who are

SAN DIEGO-Conservative surgery can preserve fertility in young women with epithelial ovarian cancer and achieve survival rates comparable to standard surgery (total abdominal hysterectomy and removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries), researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reported at the 31st annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO).

Weighing in unambiguously on the controversy over the National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus statement on

SAN DIEGO-Most women with ovarian cancer have previous abdominal or gastrointestinal (GI) complaints, and diagnoses are often delayed because neither patients nor physicians recognize these early warning signs, Barbara A. Goff, MD, reported at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO).

SAN DIEGO-Preliminary data show that a new outcomes measurement tool developed by the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO) Outcomes Task Force is a reliable method for demonstrating quality of care to third parties. Lead author Alexander W. Kennedy, MD, of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, reported on behalf of the task force at the SGO’s 31st Annual Meeting.