Could a New Blood Test Detect Ovarian Cancer?

A new method of testing for ovarian cancer could eventually help more patients be detected earlier. Because ovarian cancer’s symptoms are often not readily apparent until the disease is advance, it’s known as the “silent killer.” New tests would help save lives, particularly those that aid with early detection. Here’s more information about the new test:

“A simple blood test for ovarian cancer which detected tumour cells in four out of five patients could be available next year.

The test was further refined for use in seven patients, detecting all cases of ovarian cancer, according to results from the Medical University of Vienna.

The detection rate is superior to current methods used to monitor women at inherited risk of ovarian cancer, including a blood marker test that has a reliability rate as low as 50 per cent for early stage disease.

Blood samples are analysed in a cell separation device called Parsortix, which picks up cancer cells and also harvests them so they can be analysed to determine the best treatment for the patient.

UK charities said the results were ‘encouraging’ and could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis through screening of high-risk women.

Ovarian cancer is known as the ‘silent killer’ because women are often diagnosed too late for a cure.

Ovarian cancer affects almost 7,000 women a year and kills more than 4,000 women - claiming the lives of over 85 per cent of patients if found at a late stage when it has spread to other parts of the body.

In a new pilot study, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2015 in Philadelphia, the test picked up cancer cells in 80 per cent of 42 patients with ovarian cancer.

After the test was refined 100 per cent of cancers were picked up in seven ovarian cancer patients.

Experts hope the test will assist women – like Angelina Jolie - at high risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer because of inherited BRCA gene defects.

At present some opt for preventive surgery with removal of the breasts and ovaries to reduce the risk, but close monitoring using a blood test might provide an alternative.

The university researchers presented the case of a high risk patient who carried BRCA gene mutations.”

Read the full story here.

Can Delayed Pregnancy Reduce Ovarian Cancer Risk?

According to a new study, giving birth later in life could help reduce ovarian cancer risks. This may conflict with earlier findings that giving birth more often is also correlated with having a low risk of ovarian cancer. The study shows that women who give birth in their mid-30s or later may have a lowered risk of developing ovarian cancer, and that women’s risk may decrease over time. The study says:

“The researchers found that each five-year increase in a woman's age at the birth of her first child corresponded to a 16 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer. So, for example, women who gave birth to their first child at age 35 or later had a 46 percent decrease in their risk of ovarian cancer compared with women who gave birth to their first child when they were younger than 20.

The findings held even after the researchers took into account other factors that could affect a woman's risk of ovarian cancer, such as the total number of babies she has had and her use of oral contraception. [5 Things Women Should Know About Ovarian Cancer]

Previous studies have found that women who give birth to more children are at lower risk for ovarian cancer. One hypothesis for the link is that, during pregnancy, women stop ovulating, or releasing an egg each month. Regular ovulation is thought to increase the risk of ovarian cancer because it damages the lining of the ovaries, so the ovary cells need to be repaired frequently, which can increase the chance for cancer-causing changes to occur.

But the new findings suggest that there are factors other than the stopping of ovulation during pregnancy that reduce ovarian cancer risk, said study researcher Alice Lee, a doctoral student at the University of Southern California, who presented the findings here this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"The fact that the timing [of the pregnancy] matters kind of shows there's a little bit more to this" link between ovulation and ovarian cancer," Lee told Live Science.

It's not exactly clear why the timing of birth matters for protection against ovarian cancer. But when women are pregnant, they experience an increase in levels of the hormone progesterone, which triggers some cells to self-destruct. Because older women have accumulated more damage to the cells that line the ovaries, a later first pregnancy could clear more of this damage.

"If you have a later age at first birth, you essentially are able to clear more of the malignancy-transformed cells," Lee said.

It's too early to say whether the findings are "good news" for women who delay pregnancy, as an increasing number of women are doing. More research is needed to replicate the findings, Lee said.”

Read the original article.

Ovarian Cancer Support Online

When a friend or loved one has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it can be hard to know where to turn. Though you and your friends and family are rallying around your loved one, the battle against ovarian cancer can still sometimes feel like a lonely one. Joining up with others who are going through the same struggles can help provide inspiration, tips, and well-wishes for you.

Fortunately, much of the world is connected through the Internet, so it’s easier than ever to find support through a new means - online. Internet support groups and forums are a great place to gather, learn more about ovarian cancer, share your thoughts and feelings, and generally be part of a warm community.

Here are just a few of the ovarian support groups out there if you or your loved one is in need of some additional support:

CancerCare.org’s 15-Week Online Support Group

Strength for Caring - An online group for caregivers.

Inspire.com

Association of Cancer Online Resources

Daily Strength

Bald Is Beautiful

Friends of Mel

Share Cancer Support

Look Good Feel Better - A program for helping cancer patients look and feel good, even during treatment.

Ovarian Cancer Support Group

While we still hope that someday, ovarian cancer will be eradicated, the fact is that today, many people need support. If you feel in need of a kind word, a supportive friend, or even a place to vent, an online ovarian cancer support group could be just what you need. Consider one of these groups if you’re in need of support.

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/