APOLLO researchers uncover new target for ovarian cancer treatment

Scientists have identified a new target in ovarian cancer that is particularly vulnerable to chemotherapy. The discovery will allow researchers to better predict how this cancer will behave, particularly the most common and lethal, high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women.

The Foundation for Women’s Cancer to Host Free Patient and Advocates Education Forum in San Diego

The Foundation for Women’s Cancer (FWC) is pleased to host a free Patient and Advocate Education Forum on​​ Friday, March 15, 2024, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. PT, in San Diego, CA, at the San Diego Convention Center. The organization welcomes all gynecologic cancer (cervical, endometrial/uterine, ovarian, vaginal, and vulvar) patients, advocates, family members, and providers.

Using personalized medicine to target gynecological cancers

In this interview, Dr. Salani, who is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, talks about the latest research advances for these cancers and how women can help reduce their risk and help with the early detection of the five main types of gynecologic cancers: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar.

Major Ovarian Cancer Discovery; Findings Published in Cell

The Birrer Laboratory at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute helped discover a proteogenomic signature in ovarian cancer that may improve the way the disease is treated around the world. The discovery, which identifies a 64-protein-gene signature that can predict primary treatment resistance in patients with high grade ovarian cancer, was published Aug. 3 in the journal Cell.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for August 2, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

Recent developments include a novel biomarker that may predict the aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer precursors, insights into the structure and function of a breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene, a new approach to overcoming treatment resistance in ovarian cancer, distinguishing features of young-onset rectal cancer, a biomarker and potential target for metastatic lung cancer, machine learning models to better predict outcomes of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and a promising therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory MCL.

CAR-T immune therapy attacks ovarian cancer in mice with a single dose

CAR-T immune therapies could be effective against solid tumors if the right targets are identified, a new study led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers suggests. The researchers successfully deployed CAR-T in a mouse model of ovarian cancer, a type of aggressive, solid-tumor cancer that has eluded such therapies until now.

Pharmacologist: Cancer drug shortage is delaying lifesaving treatments

This year, an estimated 2 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. Now, a New York Institute of Technology pharmacology expert contends that these patients’ realities could grow increasingly harsher, as a monthslong shortage of chemotherapy drugs continues. Low supplies of…

MD Anderson Research Highlights for June 7, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention.

Risks of removing ovaries at benign hysterectomy may outweigh the benefits for women at low risk for ovarian cancer

An emulated target trial of more than 140,000 women in Denmark found that removing the ovaries at benign hysterectomy was associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease in younger women and cancer in older women at low risk for ovarian cancer. These findings support current recommendations for preserving ovaries in premenopausal patients. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

AACR: Penn Medicine Preclinical Study Identifies New Target for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Results from a preclinical study from Penn Medicine, presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2023, verified a new target for drug-resistant ovarian cancer and provided data to support a treatment approach that is already making its way into clinical trials.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for March 29, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention.

TRIAL’S LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP DATA SHOWS NO DIFFERENCE IN OVERALL SURVIVAL AMONG OVARIAN CANCER PATIENTS WHO DID AND DID NOT RECEIVE PARP INHIBITOR MAINTENANCE THERAPY

After resolving missing data burdens, the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA (NCT01847274) study data shows no difference in overall survival for platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer (PSROC) patients who received PARP inhibitor niraparib maintenance therapy (MT) and those who did not. Results from the trial were presented today at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer by Ursula Matulonis, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

CLINICAL TRIAL PARTICIPATION ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED OVERALL SURVIVAL IN OVARIAN CANCER PATIENTS

Clinical trial participation was associated with improved overall survival (OS) compared to standard of care therapy among women with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), according to a research study presented today at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

STUDY FINDS INTRIGUING OUTCOMES IN OVARIAN CANCER PATIENTS TREATED WITH PARP INHIBITORS BEFORE SURGICAL INTERVENTION AND SUBSEQUENT CHEMOTHERAPY

Administering PARP inhibitor (PARPi) olaparib prior to surgical intervention and chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients – a new approach – is feasible and resulted in favorable surgical options, managed adverse events, and positive health outcomes, according to results from the Neoadjuvant Olaparib Window (NOW) Trial presented today by Shannon Westin, MD et al. at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

The Foundation for Women’s Cancer to Host Patient and Advocates Education Forum at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer in Tampa on March 24

The Foundation for Women’s Cancer will host a Patients and Advocates Education Forum and Luncheon on Friday, March 24, 2023 in Tampa, FL during the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for March 8, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

Mayo Clinic researchers link ovarian cancer to bacteria colonization in microbiome

A specific colonization of microbes in the reproductive tract is commonly found in women with ovarian cancer, according to a new study from Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine. The discovery, published in Scientific Reports, strengthens evidence that the bacterial component of the microbiome — a community of microorganisms that also consists of viruses, yeasts and fungi — is an important indicator for early detection, diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for December 19, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include a cell cycle checkpoint inhibitor with potential therapeutic effects in an ovarian cancer subtype, a telementoring program for French-speaking oncology providers in Africa, insights into the relationship between obesity and immunotherapy side effects, updates to the world’s largest cancer drug discovery knowledgebase, improvements to treatment response by blocking the EGFR pathway, and a novel noninvasive diagnostic test for immunotherapy-related kidney injury.

Researchers Receive $3.2 Million to Study Efficacy of Mind-body Practices in Improving Pain, Surgical Outcomes

Can mind-body practices such as gentle yoga or self-reflection benefit patients undergoing surgery? It’s a question that researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are examining with the support of a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

New Study in JNCCN Presents Evidence for ‘Tough Conversations’ Around Racism in Access to Cancer Care

A study in JNCCN, led by researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, found that Non-Hispanic Black patients were less likely to receive guideline-appropriate treatment for ovarian cancer compared to Non-Hispanic White patients, even after adjusting for healthcare access issues.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for October 19, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include a combination approach to overcome PARP inhibitor resistance in breast and ovarian cancers, a deeper understanding of STAT3 mutations as drivers of disease progression, insights into the “obesity paradox” in men with advanced melanoma, a prognostic model for rapidly progressing vestibular schwannoma, and a role for cellular trafficking proteins in creating a metastasis-promoting lung cancer microenvironment.

Machine learning creates opportunity for new personalized therapies

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have developed a computational platform that can predict new and specific metabolic targets in ovarian cancer, suggesting opportunities to develop personalized therapies for patients that are informed by the genetic makeup of their tumors. The study appeared in Nature Metabolism.

JMIR Cancer | The Information Needs of Patients With Ovarian Cancer

JMIR Publications recently published “Understanding the Information Needs of Patients With Ovarian Cancer Regarding Genetic Testing to Inform Intervention Design: Interview Study” in JMIR Cancer, which reported that experts in gynecological cancer care recommend that all patients with invasive or high-grade ovarian cancer (OC) undergo genetic testing. However, even patients who intend to take or have taken genetic tests have many unaddressed information needs regarding genetic testing. Existing genetic counseling falls short of adequately addressing this challenge.

Next-Generation Immunotherapy Drug Shows Continued Promise in Several Advanced-Stage Cancers

Initial study results show that an experimental drug, called nemvaleukin alfa, when used alone or in combination with another anticancer drug (pembrolizumab) may be effective in treating several types of late-stage cancers in some patients.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 4, 2022

Featured studies include clinical advances with a new combination therapy targeting angiogenesis in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a promising immunotherapy combination for kidney cancer, plus laboratory studies that focus on targeting ferroptosis in specific lung cancers, developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms, and characterizing racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer early detection.

Roswell Park and University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Centers Awarded Nearly $9M for Ovarian Cancer Research

Researchers from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center are combining efforts after together securing a nearly $9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop new and better treatments for ovarian cancer.

Women’s Wellness: Types of Gynecologic Cancers and their Warning Signs

September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. Rutgers Cancer institute of New Jersey Gynecologic Oncology Chief Dr. James Aikins reminds women about the types of gynecologic cancers and their warning signs

Experimental Model of Ovarian Cancer Shows Effect of Healthy Cell Arrangement in Metastasis

A key element to slowing metastasis in ovarian cancer is understanding the mechanisms of how tumor cells invade tissues. In APL Bioengineering, biophysics researchers explain how microscopic defects in how healthy cells line up can alter how easily ovarian cancer cells invade tissue. Using an experimental model, the group found that disruptions in the normal cellular layout, called topological defects, affect the rate of tumor cell invasion.