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Drug Combination Impacts Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer Patient...

Drug Combination Impacts Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer Patients without BRCA Mutations

August 11, 2014

BRCA mutations in ovarian cancer are a double-edged sword.  While BRCA gene mutation carriers have a significantly higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, BRCA gene mutation in tumors is associated with a significant increase in patient survival.  Scientists believe that this is because loss of BRCA gene expression leads to an increase tumor cell response … Continued

Epigenetic Targeting of Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells

Epigenetic Targeting of Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells

July 30, 2014

(July 29, 2014)   OCRF-funded research published earlier this month provides the first proof of principle that epigenomic strategies efficiently target ovarian cancer stem cells, which are key for treatment resistance and the major factor in therapy failures.  OCRF grantees Kenneth Nephew, PhD and Daniela Matei, MD are first and senior author of the paper, which was … Continued

Most High Risk Women Aren't Aware of Ovarian Cancer Risk

Most High Risk Women Aren't Aware of Ovarian Cancer Risk

July 28, 2014

(July 28, 2014) Research published last week in Behavioral Medicine suggests that most high-risk women (>75%) do not know their risk for ovarian cancer. Women with a documented deleterious mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at substantially elevated risk for ovarian cancer. To understand what percentage of women with high risk family histories know their … Continued

OCRF Research Sheds New Light on Ovarian Cancer Metastasis

OCRF Research Sheds New Light on Ovarian Cancer Metastasis

July 21, 2014

(July 21, 2014) According to research funded in part by OCRF, circulating tumor cells spread ovarian cancer through the bloodstream, homing in on a sheath of abdominal fatty tissue where it can grow and metastasize to other organs. This new finding, supported in part by an OCRF Program Project Development Grant to Anil Sood, MD, … Continued

OCRF Research Shows ARID1A is Tumor Suppressor Gene

OCRF Research Shows ARID1A is Tumor Suppressor Gene

July 8, 2014

(July 8, 2014) Frequent mutations in the ARID1A gene have been previously discovered in ovarian endometrioid and clear-cell cancers.  Now research supported by OCRF has provided direct evidence that it is an authentic tumor suppressor gene using a mouse model.  OCRF Ann Schreiber Mentored Investigator grantee Bin Guan, PhD is first author, and OCRF Scientific … Continued

Q&A with OCRF Grantee John Weroha, MD, PhD

Q&A with OCRF Grantee John Weroha, MD, PhD

July 7, 2014

Q&A with John Weroha, MD, PhD 2014 Liz Tilberis Early Career Award Mayo Clinic               Were you always in interested in science?  By the time I was in high school I knew I wanted to have a career in biology, but I think my interest actually started earlier.  When … Continued

No Link Between Fertility Drugs and Breast, Ovarian and Ute...

No Link Between Fertility Drugs and Breast, Ovarian and Uterine Cancers

July 1, 2014

(July 1, 2014)  There is “little evidence” that the use of conventional fertility hormones used for ovarian stimulation in the treatment of infertility increases the long-term risk of breast and gynecological cancers, according to the results of a significant 30-year follow-up study. However, the extended use of clomiphene citrate was associated with a higher risk … Continued

Palliative Care at Time of Cancer Diagnosis Improves Survival

Palliative Care at Time of Cancer Diagnosis Improves Survival

June 25, 2014

(June 25, 2014) Research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology earlier this month suggests that palliative care delivered at the time of cancer diagnosis improves survival. A randomized trial of palliative oncology care in 207 patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers showed that the risk of death at … Continued

Gemcitabine, Carboplatin, and Bevacizumab Extend PFS

Gemcitabine, Carboplatin, and Bevacizumab Extend PFS

June 24, 2014

(June 24, 2014) Earlier this month, researchers reported results of a Phase II trial which looked at efficacy and safety of a biweekly gemcitabine, carboplatin, and bevacizumab combination in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian, peritoneal, or tubal cancer. The results, which were published online June 5, 2014 in the journal Gynecologic Oncology, showed that biweekly … Continued

Webinar Highlights Research News from ASCO

Webinar Highlights Research News from ASCO

June 20, 2014

On Monday, June 16, 2014, Dr. Douglas Levine of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center presented a free webinar focusing on research  news that was presented at 2014’s medical meetings.  In his hour-long presentation, he focused primarily on new ovarian cancer research that was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, which took … Continued

Report from the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology ...

Report from the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting

June 17, 2014

Promising new combination treatments for ovarian cancer Dr. Joyce Liu, MD, on behalf of researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), presented striking results from a Phase II trial testing the combination of the PARP inhibitor olaparib and the anti-angiogenesis drug cediranib (which blocks tumors from creating new blood … Continued

2014 ASCO Research Round-Up

2014 ASCO Research Round-Up

June 6, 2014

Posted by Laura Koontz on June 5, 2014 The 50th Annual Conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held May 30 – June 3 in Chicago, featured a number of promising and thought provoking studies on ovarian cancer. Below is a brief summary of the most notable studies from the meeting. In the coming weeks, we’ll also post … Continued