Ovarian Cancer

Despite a response rate of only 9%, single-agent carboplatin (Paraplatin) produced the best 1-year survival rate with the lowest toxicity in a five-arm Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group study of cisplatin (Platinol)

In an attempt to further improve the quality of life and prognosis of patients with non–small-cell lung cancer, several clinical strategies exist to evaluate newer chemotherapy agents for this disease. Several of these

ROCKVILLE, Md-Doxil (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection, ALZA Corporation) has won accelerated FDA approval of its supplemental New Drug Application for the treatment of metastatic ovarian cancer refractory to both paclitaxel (Taxol)- and platinum-based chemotherapy regimens. Accelerated approval requires the company to conduct additional research to demonstrate that the drug is associated with clinical benefit. Doxil, a liposomal formulation of doxorubicin, is currently approved for use in AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma.

Since its approval by the FDA in 1992, paclitaxel (Taxol) has been widely used in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Surgical debulking has also been proven to increase survival in women with this disease.

ROCKVILLE, Md-The FDA has approved Ethyol (amifostine for injection) as a therapy to decrease the incidence of moderate-to-severe xerostomia in patients undergoing postoperative radiation treatment for head and neck cancer. The approval came only 2 weeks after the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommendation.

SAN FRANCISCO–Ovarian cancers associated with mutations in the BRCA gene have a different underlying biology than nonhereditary cancers and may respond better to treatments not routinely applied in ovarian cancer, according to a study reported at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

Some factors that lead to the development of breast cancer are similar to those responsible for the development of ovarian cancer, say the authors of a new study. Consequently, women who survive breast cancer, especially those under the age of

SAN FRANCISCO-Women who have survived breast cancer are at increased risk for subsequent ovarian cancer, and this risk is especially high in women diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50 and in African-American, Asian, and Hispanic women, according to data presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

Depression serious enough to affect daily functioning occurs in one of every five patients who have epithelial ovarian cancer, according to data presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. Diane Bodurka-Bevers, MD, and her colleagues at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center studied this problem in 275 patients with ovarian cancer.

NEW ORLEANS-When talking with women about their personal risk of developing breast cancer, “terms such as relative risk are not very useful,” Patricia Kelly, PhD, said at the American Society of Breast Disease annual meeting, co-sponsored by the Ochsner Medical Foundation, New Orleans.

The physician-patient relationship is based on effective communication. In oncology, higher expectations for communication are driven by increased media attention to cancer, patient-directed pharmaceutical advertising, and

BALTIMORE-Physicians must help patients sort through the many diagnostic, predictive, and therapeutic alternatives raised by genetic testing, a trio of genetic specialists from Johns Hopkins said at a meeting on clinical cancer genetics and genetic testing.

SAN FRANCISCO-Five-year survival was significantly better for women with advanced-stage ovarian cancer diagnosed from 1988 to 1994 than for those diagnosed from 1983 to 1987, according to research presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. This improvement is thought to be due to increased use of surgical debulking and adjuvant platinum/paclitaxel (Taxol).

Because most patients now want to know the truth about their diagnosis and prognosis, the ability to discuss the cancer diagnosis, disease recurrence, or treatment failure, and to solicit patients’ views about resuscitation

Brain metastases are the most common type of brain tumor in adults and are an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. In recent years, important advances have been made in the diagnosis

PHILADELPHIA-To be effective, the time interval for ovarian cancer screening should be no more than a year, a screening trial of 22,000 postmenopausal women suggests. In this study, 67 women were identified with ovarian cancer. For 28 of these women, ovarian cancer was detected within 1 year of their last CA 125 blood test.

WASHINGTON-Accumulating evidence shows that the additional cost of treating cancer patients in clinical trials vs that of providing standard care is essentially negligible, and, in some instances, treatment on protocol is significantly less expensive, experts said at a congressional briefing sponsored by the National Coalition for Cancer Research.

Laparoscopy dates back to 1901 when Kelling inspected a dog’s abdominal cavity with a cystoscope introduced transcutaneously. This technique was subsequently applied to humans in 1923.[1] Jacobaeus, in 1910, developed instruments

Minimally invasive surgery is simply the use of small incisions with specialized equipment to accomplish surgical objectives that would otherwise be completed through larger incisions with conventional equipment. A priority of gyne-cologic oncologists

One of the cornerstones of gynecologic cancer surgery is the assessment and removal of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Numerous reports have demonstrated that, when performed by highly skilled individuals, laparoscopic

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia-Genetic alterations very early in the disease process lie at the root of every cancer. Functional genomics, the study of which genes are actually functioning at a given time or stage, affords a “new approach” to fighting cancer, reported Kristina Cole, MD, PhD, a cancer research training fellow at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.

Pain is the most common symptom of advanced cancer. For most cancer patients, pain can be controlled with

HOUSTON-A multimodal strategy for screening asymptomatic postmenopausal women for ovarian cancer shows promise of being able to find the disease early and improve survival. Researchers for the Ovarian Cancer Screening Project (OCSP) at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, are testing a strategy combining the tumor marker CA 125 with transvaginal ultrasound and a mathematical instrument called the Risk for Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA).

HOUSTON-Stress is an immediate reaction to cancer that generally becomes more intensified during the course of the disease. Barbara L. Andersen, PhD, Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, and her colleagues are conducting a study to examine the effects of stress on the immune system in cancer patients.

HOUSTON-The severity of sexual and fertility problems experienced by women after treatment for ovarian cancer is as diverse as the patient population, Leslie Schover, PhD, said at the First Annual International Conference for Ovarian Cancer, co-sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

NEW YORK-Last year, more than 20,000 people took part in the 5-kilometer Revlon Run/Walk for Women in New York City, raising more than $700,000 to fight women’s cancers. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, May 1, following a route that runs from Times Square to Central Park. The event is produced by Rehage Entertainment, Inc. and the New York Road Runners Club in cooperation with the City of New York.

ANAHEIM, California-Bringing together scientists and activists involved in understanding and controlling environmental pollutants associated with cancer can create powerful new research synergies, Sandra Steingraber, PhD, said at a symposium on mixed environmental hazards and cancer at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

There are several million breast cancer survivors worldwide. In the United States, 180,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, and approximately 97,000 of these women have an extremely low chance of a suffering a recurrence of their cancer. With an average age at diagnosis of 60 years and a 25-year expected duration of survival, the current number of breast cancer survivors in the United States may approach 2.5 million women. Since breast cancer is now being detected at an earlier stage than previously and since adjuvant chemotherapy may cause ovarian failure, an increasing number of women are becoming postmenopausal at a younger age after breast cancer treatment. This conference was convened in September 1997 to consider how menopausal breast cancer survivors should be treated at the present time and what future studies are needed to develop improved therapeutic strategies. A total of 47 breast cancer experts and 13 patient advocates participated. The proceedings of the conference are being published in six installments in successive issues of oncology. This third part focuses on the prevention of osteoporosis and the cardiovascular effects of estrogens and antiestrogens. [ONCOLOGY 13(3):397-432, 1999]

NEW YORK-Although IV topo-tecan (Hycamtin) has been in use for several years and has shown activity in a number of different malignancies, oncologists now are turning their attention to delivering this camptothecin analog orally to maximize its effectiveness.

NEW YORK-Developing and implementing cancer outreach programs for African-Americans takes planning and sensitivity, said Robin L. Hurdle, CSW, a social worker in charge of the African-American Outreach Program at Cancer Care, Inc., the New York-based program that provides emotional support, information, and practical help to people with cancer and their loved ones free of charge.