CA125 Test Detects Far More Ovarian Cancer Cases Than Thought

November 6, 2019 6:00 pm

By Liam Davenport

A blood test for detecting ovarian cancer is far more effective in the primary care setting than previously thought, say UK researchers, who suggest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines will need to be … Read more

Genetically Definable Subgroups of Cancers Sensitive to Treatment

October 24, 2019 5:00 pm

Precision oncology aims to use genetic features of a patient’s tumor to tailor anti-cancer therapy. DNA mutations in a drug target have provided a number of therapeutic opportunities; however, there are many cancer types that do not have obvious targetable … Read more

‘Wild Idea’ Opens Possible New Frontier for Preventing Ovarian Cancer

October 9, 2019 3:00 pm

A laboratory study published in Clinical Cancer Research offers a new hypothesis about how ovarian cancer forms and suggests how it might be prevented.

The study is the first to show that the natural stiffening of the ovaries called fibrosis … Read more

Discovery of New “Don’t Eat Me Protein” Points the Way to Effective Cancer Therapy

August 1, 2019 4:00 pm

By Alexandru Micu

Stanford University (SU) researchers have found a new signaling molecule that cancer cells use to keep the immune system at bay.

Our bodies’ immune cells are, among other objectives, tasked with clearing out malfunctioning cells. In theory, … Read more

New Discovery Could Open Up PARP Inhibitors to More Cancer Patients

July 25, 2019 4:00 pm

By Amirah Al Idrus

PARP inhibitors have transformed treatment for breast and ovarian cancers, but their use has been limited to the small proportion of patients who have BRCA mutations. New research out of UT Southwestern Medical Center has uncovered … Read more

Targeting a Key Protein May Keep Ovarian Cancer Cells from Spreading

July 15, 2019 12:50 pm

By Zachary Sweger

Preventing a protein from doing its job may keep a certain type of ovarian cancer cell from growing and dividing uncontrollably in the lab, according to a new study from Penn State College of Medicine.

In … Read more

Ovarian Cancer and Bacteria in the Vagina: A New Study Found a Link, So We Asked the Experts What Women Need to Know

July 11, 2019 7:00 am

By Caroline Hopkins

The study found that younger women (under 50) with ovarian cancer had lower levels of “good bacteria” in their vaginas than women who were cancer-free. But the experts said we shouldn’t draw any conclusions about cancer risk Read more

CRISPR Reveals New Cancer Drug Targets through ID of Critical Gene Fusion Regions

May 16, 2019 6:00 pm

In what they claim is the first large-scale systematic analysis of thousands of gene fusions in human cancers, scientists have identified a gene fusion that could represent a novel drug target for multiple cancers. Through their studies, the largely U.K.-based … Read more

Liquid Biopsies Can Point to Best Ovarian Cancer Treatment

May 6, 2019 4:00 pm

DNA shed by tumors into the bloodstream is starting to be used for the early detection of cancer and for monitoring how well treatment is working. Such DNA, which is called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), hasn’t been quite as helpful

Read more

Scientists Identify Genes Tied to Increased Risk of Ovarian Cancer

May 1, 2019 6:00 pm

A team of researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Cancer and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have newly identified 34 genes that are associated with an increased risk for developing the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. The findings, published today in … Read more

Changes in the Metabolism of Normal Cells Promotes the Metastasis of Ovarian Cancer Cells

May 1, 2019 5:00 pm

A systematic examination of the tumor and the tissue surrounding it—particularly normal cells in that tissue, called fibroblasts—has revealed a new treatment target that could potentially prevent the rapid dissemination and poor prognosis associated with high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), a … Read more

Ovarian Cancer Patients Undertested for Mutations that Could Guide Clinical Care

April 9, 2019 4:00 pm

By Krista Conger

A large study of women with breast and ovarian cancer has revealed significant gaps between national guidelines for genetic testing and actual testing practices, according to researchers from Stanford and five other institutions.

Fewer than a quarter … Read more

23andMe DTC Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Test Misses Almost 90 Percent of BRCA Mutation Carriers

April 5, 2019 5:00 pm

By Julia Karow

A study led by researchers at Invitae has found that 23andMe’s direct-to-consumer BRCA test, which tests for three common variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and is authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration, misses … Read more

Study: Birth Control Pills Protect Against Aggressive Ovarian Cancer

April 3, 2019 5:00 pm

“The longer the history of oral contraceptive use, the greater the protection we observed in terms of reduced chance of dying from aggressive ovarian cancer,” said study first author Jennifer Mongiovi.

The protection that birth control pills offer against ovarian … Read more

SGO 2019: Less Worry, More Symptoms and Regret With Risk-Reducing Salpingo-Oophorectomy

March 20, 2019 5:00 pm

By Christina Bennett, MS

Women at increased risk for hereditary ovarian cancer who underwent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy experienced less worry but worse menopausal symptoms and more regret compared with those who underwent salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy, the Women Choosing Surgical Prevention … Read more

New Class of Drugs Could Treat Ovarian Cancer

March 19, 2019 5:00 pm

A team of researchers across The University of Manchester have shown that a new class of drugs are able to stop ovarian cancer cells growing.

The Cancer Research UK and Wellcome Trust funded study, published in the journal Cancer CellRead more

Individualized Dosing Regimen Reduces Side Effects in Ovarian Cancer Maintenance Therapy

March 18, 2019 7:00 pm

By Kristie L. Kahl

Side effects decreased among patients with high-risk ovarian cancer who received an individualized starting dose of Zejula (niraparib), based upon baseline bodyweight and platelet counts, compared with a fixed starting dose, according to a recent analysis

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PARP Inhibitor Benefit Gets a TWiST in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

March 17, 2019 6:00 pm

By Ian Ingram

In delaying disease progression in recurrent ovarian cancer, maintenance therapy with the PARP inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) also increased patients’ time without symptoms or toxicity (TWiST), an analysis of the phase III NOVA trial found.

Compared with placebo, … Read more

Cancer Biomarker for PARP Inhibitor Effectiveness Discovered

March 15, 2019 5:00 pm

Since tumors often have unique defects in the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie how cells repair various DNA lesions is critical to selecting the appropriate clinical treatments. Inhibitors to poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) are examples … Read more

Ovarian Cancer Survivors Carry Burden of Severe Long-Term Fatigue

March 14, 2019 5:00 pm

By Will Pass

Women who have survived epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) more often report severe long-term fatigue than healthy women, according to a case-control study involving more than 600 individuals.

Ovarian cancer survivors had a higher rate of sleep disturbance, … Read more