News

Highlights from the March 2016 Society of Gynecologic Oncol...

Highlights from the March 2016 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer

March 30, 2016

By: Annie Ellis, Ovarian Cancer Survivor and Research Advocate Women’s cancer specialists from all over the world convened in San Diego in March to hear about the latest developments in women’s cancer research. This was the fifth SGO annual meeting I’ve attended over the past eight years, and the first that I left with more confusion … Continued

Research

Research Updates from SGO Annual Meeting

Research Updates from SGO Annual Meeting

March 30, 2016

OCRFA staff and volunteers recently attended the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, held March 19-22, 2016 in San Diego.  Every year women’s cancer physicians and researchers gather at this meeting to discuss the latest in the care and treatment of women with ovarian and other gynecologic cancers. OCRFA Research Advocate and … Continued

Research

OCRFA Co-authors Paper on Educating about Hereditary Risk A...

OCRFA Co-authors Paper on Educating about Hereditary Risk Across Cancer Types

March 28, 2016

Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance today announced the online publication of a collaborative best practices paper entitled, “Understanding Hereditary Cancer in the Era of Multi-Gene Panel Testing.” The paper offers key insights into the changing needs of individuals and family members who might be at risk for hereditary cancer. The paper also includes discussion of how … Continued

OCRA News

Study Defines Characteristics of Long-Term Ovarian Cancer S...

Study Defines Characteristics of Long-Term Ovarian Cancer Survivors

March 22, 2016

(March 22, 2016) A new article in Gynecologic Oncology describes clinical features—some surprising—found in women surviving high-grade serous carcinoma for ten or more years. OCRF Scientific Advisory Committee member and former grantee Douglas A. Levine, MD was senior author of the paper. The study, a joint effort between five academic medical centers, examined 203 long-term … Continued

Research

Q&A with OCRFA Grantee Jill Madden, Ph.D.

Q&A with OCRFA Grantee Jill Madden, Ph.D.

March 18, 2016

Q&A with Jill Madden, PhD University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute, Inc. 2016 Ann Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award   OCRFA: Tell me about yourself. Did you always want to be a scientist? Were you interested in science as a child? Jill Madden: I grew up on a farm in rural Alden, Iowa, where livestock … Continued

Community

The Institute of Medicine Reports on Ovarian Cancer

The Institute of Medicine Reports on Ovarian Cancer

March 16, 2016

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released a report commissioned by Congress, Ovarian Cancers: Evolving Paradigms in Research and Care. The report provides an in-depth look at the state of ovarian cancer in the United States. While significant progress has been made in the fight against ovarian cancer in the last few decades, the report … Continued

Research

Dose-dense Weekly Paclitaxel Does Not Increase PFS

Dose-dense Weekly Paclitaxel Does Not Increase PFS

March 3, 2016

(March 3, 2016) In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week, researchers report that a dose-dense weekly paclitaxel regimen failed to improve progression-free survival in advanced ovarian cancer versus a conventional regimen and optional bevacizumab (Avastin). Patients treated with weekly paclitaxel plus carboplatin had a median PFS of 14.7 months compared … Continued

Research

The Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance

March 3, 2016

The Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA) formed in 1999, when a small group of survivors, united by their doctors, gathered around a dining room table. They realized the lack of ovarian cancer support in their community, and were intent on building a Minnesota ovarian cancer community, made up of survivors and caregivers. The founders were … Continued

Community

Rockin 4A Cause

March 2, 2016

Rockin 4A Cause was founded by 4 couples who had each lost someone very close to them to three different diseases, including most recently Dyan Elovich Blumberg to ovarian cancer. Together, they found a reason to rock and raise funds with their favorite music with all of their favorite people for 3 important causes. This … Continued

Community

Clinical Trial Highlight: Long-Term Survivor Study

Clinical Trial Highlight: Long-Term Survivor Study

February 25, 2016

Official Trial Name:  The Genomic, Epigenomic, and Psychosocial Characteristics of Long-Term Survivors of Ovarian Cancer – Recruitment. Some advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients are long-term survivors of stages III and IV serum ovarian cancer. These patients may provide the key to long-term survival and bring hope to all women with Stages III and IV ovarian cancer. … Continued

Research

OCRF Research Illuminates Origins of PPM1D Mutations in Ova...

OCRF Research Illuminates Origins of PPM1D Mutations in Ovarian Cancer Patients

February 24, 2016

(February 24, 2016) Research led by Dr. Elizabeth Swisher at the University of Washington, funded in part by OCRFA and published this month in JAMA Oncology, shows that mutations in the gene PPM1D in women with ovarian cancer are the result of aging and chemotherapy exposure. Read the abstract in JAMA Oncology. Previously, somatic mosaic … Continued

OCRA News

Research News: Talcum Powder

Research News: Talcum Powder

February 24, 2016

The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance provides information based on medical research and best practices. Research regarding a connection between the use of talcum powder and increased ovarian cancer risk is inconclusive. The verdict of a recent trial regarding talcum powder. will not change the information that the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance provides to women about talcum … Continued

Research