Ovarian Cancer Prevention Takes the Spotlight

A recent video at Medscape shows Dr. George Lundberg explaining how ovarian cancer works, as well as a new method that could help prevent it. In the transcript for the video, Dr. Lundberg explores an idea that could help prevent ovarian cancer in women. He also explores how this method might be tested. Here is the beginning of his interview?

“Hello. I am Dr George Lundberg and this is At Large at Medscape.

The best way to deal with a potentially fatal cancer is to prevent it. In order to prevent a cancer, one must understand either the etiology or the pathogenesis so as to design an intervention.

Doctor, what do you know about cancer of the ovary?

Frequency? About 22,000 cases per year in the United States.[1]

Incidence? 12/100,000 women per year.[1]

Pathology? There are many types and subtypes by gross appearance, histology, immunohistochemistry, and genomics.

Do you know the etiology? No one does, except for a few cancer types that are from genetic mutations or are familial.

Prognosis? Depends mostly on type.

How is the diagnosis made? By tissue sampling, often late.

Does screening work? Unfortunately, no.

How to treat? Surgical removal, if possible; chemotherapy.

Outcomes? Poor for those far advanced at diagnosis, which is most. More than 14,000 American women with ovarian cancer die annually,[1] for a death percentage of 65%. Not good.

Have we been making progress? Not really. Death rates have not changed much in some 50 years.”

View the original video to learn more: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/840816

Know the Stages of Ovarian Cancer

Even though ovarian cancer diagnoses are fairly rare, affecting about 20,000 women per year, the death toll is so high that it’s the fifth-leading cause of cancer death for women each year. One way to help improve survival rates is to know the symptoms and stages of ovarian cancer, since it may help you recognize symptoms sooner. A new article in the Lompoc Record explores the stages of ovarian cancer and how the disease progresses:

“Other than a family history of ovarian and breast cancer, little else is conclusively known about what increases a woman’s risk of developing the disease.

Most women present between the ages of 40 and 65. The most common complaints are vague abdominal pain, abdominal distension or bowel changes. However, frequent symptoms are mild and vague which, unfortunately, results in the majority of patients (75-80 percent) presenting with advanced stage disease (usually stage III or IV disease).

A basic look at the stating system is as follows:

Stage I = Tumor limited to one ovary;

Stage II =Tumor involving both ovaries (or one ovary with extension of tumor to the pelvic wall);

Stage III = Disease spread to other areas of the abdomen and pelvis;

Stage IV = Disease involving liver or organs outside of the abdomen and pelvis.

The diagnosis is usually made by a combination of physical exam, ultrasounds, CT scans and blood tests.

Treatment consists of surgery performed by a gynecological oncologist (a surgeon specializing in gynecological cancers), usually followed by four to six months of chemotherapy. Occasionally, patients found with very early disease can be treated by surgery alone.

Despite patients usually presenting with advanced disease, if they undergo aggressive surgery where the cancer is completely (or nearly completely) excised, and undergo chemotherapy thereafter, cure rates can still be in the range of 25-30 percent. A significant percentage of women will develop recurrence of their disease months to years later. There are now several options for further treatment, and remissions can be achieved; however, once the disease recurs, it is generally not curable, although many patients live for years.”

Learn more by reading the original article here: http://bit.ly/18xNaS2

Want to Prevent Ovarian Cancer? Try Oranges and Tea

Every year, 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While it’s not something you can take a pill to prevent, lifestyle factors can affect whether or not a woman gets the disease. In a recent study, researchers followed the same group of women for several decades, asking questions about the types of foods they ate. The results turned up a surprising connection: Women who drank tea and ate citrus fruits were less likely to get ovarian cancer. According to a recent article at Science 20,

“"Women who had two or more cups of tea per day had about a 30 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer compared to women who had one or less cups of tea per day," explained Tworoger.

That's good news for tea lovers. Tea contains powerful natural compounds called flavanoids that help protect the body against disease and possibly some cancers.

"We think these compounds help reduce inflammation and they have what's called antioxidant properties, so they help reduce stress inside your body cells," said Tworoger.

The compounds are also found in broccoli, kale, red wine and citrus fruits. The study found that drinking a daily glass of orange juice could also help reduce of the risk of ovarian cancer, but not as well as tea.

"We found that high consumption of oranges and orange juice was associated with a suggestively lower risk of ovarian cancer, although the association wasn't significant," Tworoger said.

Flavanoids are already found in most people's diets, so what do researchers suggest?

"The underlying message here is to continue to eat a healthy diet and some of the ways that you can do that are by consuming more tea and citrus fruits," Tworoger suggests.”

Learn more by reading the original article: http://www.science20.com/inside_science/citrus_fruit_and_tea_may_reduce_ovarian_cancer_risk-153025

Can Ovarian Cancer Resist Treatment?

According to a recent new article, ovarian cancers that have a variety of genetically different cells are more likely to resist treatment than those with similar cells. Could this impact how treatments are devised for women with ovarian cancer? According to Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News,

“When cancer spreads in time and space, it can also spread branches in a kind of family tree. Such is the case with ovarian cancer. In high-grade serious ovarian cancer (HGSOC), which often develops progressive resistance to chemotherapy, different groups of tumor cells diversify genetically, with dire consequences. According to a recent study conducted by Cancer Research UK, HSOC is more deadly if it consists of a patchwork of different groups of cells.

Serous ovarian cancers containing a variety of genetically different cells were more likely to become resistant to treatment and come back again than cancers made of more similar cells. Women with this type of tumour also died sooner than those with less varied tumors.

These findings appeared February 24 in PLOS Medicine, in an article entitled, “Spatial and Temporal Heterogeneity in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer: A Phylogenetic Analysis.” The article described how Cancer Research UK scientists evaluated solid tumors for genetic variety, or tumor heterogeneity, and subsequently linked measures of tumor heterogeneity to cancer survival.

The link is a matter of clonal expansion (CE), a process by which tumor subpopulations that possess an evolutionary advantage such as faster growth or chemotherapy resistance come to dominate a tumor.

To address their hypothesis that quantitative measures of intratumour heterogeneity could predict outcome in HGSOC, the Cancer Research UK scientists collected multiple spatially and temporally separated tumor samples from 14 women undergoing chemotherapy for HGSOC, and used formal methods to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the disease within each patient from whole genome copy number profiles.

“Our analyses showed marked differences in CE between patients and negative effects of high CE on survival. In two patients with very high CE, we demonstrated that clonal populations detected at relapse arose from early branching events, followed by divergent evolution and CE,” wrote the authors. “We further showed that HGSOC generally evolves and spreads in a branching process with frequently changing rates of evolution. Taken together, these findings are consistent with previous data from cell-based studies and circulating tumor DNA assays that suggested that CE occurs between diagnosis and relapse in HGSOC.”

The team also found that gene faults contributing to drug resistance were present in some parts of tumors before treatment began, replacing the previous belief that chemotherapy caused these genetic changes.”

Read the original article to learn more: http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/ovarian-cancer-more-deadly-if-genetically-motley/81250964/

New Drug Could Help Patients With Ovarian Cancer

One of the major problems women diagnosed with ovarian cancer face is lack of treatments. There are only a few choices for these women, and many options are not as effective when caught later in the progression of the disease. That’s why, when researchers uncover a potential new treatment, it’s important to learn more about it. According to new research:

“researchers are beginning clinical trials into new cancer drug, ALM201, which “targets tumours by an entirely different pathway to other treatments”.

Rather than attacking tumours directly, it prevents the growth of new blood vessels in tumours by starving them of oxygen and nutrients.

If the clinical trials are successful, ALM201 could also be used to treat other forms of cancer.

It has been created by Co Armagh-based drugs firm Almac Discovery in conjunction with experts from Queen’s University, Belfast.

They have been working on ALM201 for six years, with the process now reaching clinical trial stage.

The phase 1 trials were announced to coincide with the start of Ovarian Cancer Month.

Stephen Barr, president of Almac Discovery, said: “This is a significant step in tailoring patient therapy and we are excited to be involved in advancing human health in this way.””

Learn more by reading the original article over at the Mirror: http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/ovarian-cancer-drug-tested-patients-5260612

Helping a Friend With Ovarian Cancer

When a friend or loved one is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it can be hard to know what to do or say. Any health diagnosis is challenging, but cancer can be particularly all-consuming. Combine that with the fact that it’s not an experience everybody goes through, and it can suddenly feel very hard to talk to or even help a friend you’re close to. Cancer.net put together this list of suggestions to help people whose friends or loved ones have received a cancer diagnosis:

Although each person with cancer is different, here are some general suggestions for showing support:

• Ask permission—before visiting, before giving advice, before asking questions. And make it clear that saying no is perfectly okay.
• Make flexible plans that can be easily changed in case something comes up or your friend needs to cancel or reschedule.
• Don’t be afraid to make plans for the future—this gives your friend something positive to look forward to. Be careful not to come across as pushy or demanding though.
• Be humorous and fun when appropriate and when needed.
• Allow for sadness—do not ignore uncomfortable topics or feelings.
• Make time for a weekly check-in phone call. Let your friend know when you will be calling, and let your friend know that it is okay to not answer the phone.
• Offer to help with specific tasks, such as taking care of children, taking care of a pet, or preparing a meal. Many people find it hard to ask for help, and your friend will likely appreciate the offer. However, if your friend declines an offer, don’t take it personally.
• Follow through on a commitment to help.
• Try not to let your friend’s condition get in the way of your friendship. As much as possible, treat him or her the same way you always have.
• Ask about interests, hobbies, and other topics not related to cancer—people going through treatment sometimes need a break from talking about the disease.
• If you aren't sure how to help, ask.

What to say

Here are some simple guidelines to use when talking with your friend.

Avoid saying

• I know just how you feel.
• You need to talk.
• I know just what you should do.
• I feel helpless.
• I don't know how you manage.
• I’m sure you’ll be fine.
• Don’t worry.
• How much time do the doctors give you?
• How long do you have?
• Let me know what I can do. (Instead, offer specific ways you can help or other things you can provide if they need it.)

Do say

• I'm sorry this has happened to you.
• If you ever feel like talking, I am here to listen.
• What are you thinking of doing, and how can I help?
• I care about you.
• I’m thinking about you.
• I don’t know what to say. (It is better to be honest than to simply stop calling or visiting out of fear.)

Get more tips at Cancer.net: http://www.cancer.net/coping-and-emotions/communicating-loved-ones/supporting-friend-who-has-cancer