On June 1–2, the Ovarian Cancer Observatory—part of OCRA’s broader investment in research initiatives—convened its first in-person Forum in Vancouver. Roughly 50 of the field’s brightest clinicians, pathologists, and epidemiologists gathered for what became, in essence, a two-day think tank on preventing ovarian cancer.
The Observatory is funded through a grant from OCRA and was headed by Gillian Hanley, PhD, and David Huntsman, MD, FRCPC, FCCMG, of the University of British Columbia. Drs. Hanley and Huntsman are both members of OCRA’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
The focus of this event was opportunistic salpingectomy—the removal of the fallopian tubes as a strategy to prevent ovarian cancer—and how analyzing those removed tubes for STIC lesions, the precancerous cells that can signal disease before it develops, could sharpen prevention efforts worldwide.
The in-depth, open-format discussions covered topics including:
- The safety, efficacy, and best use cases of opportunistic salpingectomy (OS)
- How to standardize the evaluation of the removed fallopian tubes so that data across the world can be pooled
- How to standardize the classification of STIC lesions (precancerous cells that may be present in the removed fallopian tubes)
- Who are the highest priority groups to target for education and awareness in order to get OS implemented?
- What are the guidelines around OS in different countries, and does policy need to change in order to implement it?
- At what age is it appropriate to also remove the ovaries, and how much extra cancer risk-reduction does this provide?
- Whether there should be a new name for the procedure
Learn more about ovarian cancer risk and prevention.
