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

New Device Can Detect Cancer in Just a Drop of Blood

February 26, 2019 5:00 pm

By Maria Cohut

Some types of cancer, such as ovarian cancer, tend to remain undetected until they are too advanced for treatment to be effective. Now, an innovative tool may be able to detect cancer easily, quickly, and in minuscule … Read more

Could Conservative Management of Adnexal Masses Lead to Ovarian Cancer?

February 20, 2019 5:00 pm

By Dave Levitan

Conservative management of adnexal masses classified as benign was associated with a low risk of subsequent malignant ovarian cancer, according to a new study.

“Adnexal masses are often detected incidentally and most of them prove to be … Read more

AI Predicts Ovarian Cancer Survival Rates From CT Scans

February 15, 2019 5:00 pm

By Melissa Rohman

AI can predict a woman’s survival rate and response to treatments for ovarian cancer more accurately than current methods, according to research published online Feb. 15 in Nature Communications. 

The machine learning software developed by researchers at … Read more

Ovarian Cysts Should Be ‘Watched’ Rather Than Removed

February 5, 2019 5:00 pm

Women may not need to undergo surgery for non-cancerous ovarian cysts, avoiding potential surgical complications.

This is the finding of new research, by a team of international scientists from institutions including Imperial College London and KU Leuven, published in The Read more

Drug Treating Breast Cancer May Be Effective in Treating Lung and Ovarian Cancer

February 5, 2019 4:00 pm

Two new papers, published simultaneously in Nature Communications and led by researchers at McGill University, offer promise that a drug currently used to treat estrogen positive breast cancer may be effective in treating two different types of cancer, one rare … Read more

Drug Target Identified for Chemotherapy-Resistant Ovarian, Breast Cancer

February 4, 2019 5:00 pm
By Tamara Bhandari Study finds mimic for BRCA genes that could be targeted to improve treatment People who inherit a faulty copy of the so-called “breast cancer genes” BRCA1 and BRCA2 are at high risk of cancer. About 10 percent… Read more