News

FDA Approves Genentech's Avastin Plus Chemotherapy to ...

FDA Approves Genentech's Avastin Plus Chemotherapy to Treat Women With Platinum-Resistant Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

November 14, 2014

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of women with platinum-resistant, recurrent ovarian cancer. The approval was based on results from a study that showed Avastin plus chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease worsening or … Continued

Research

Bevacizumab Plus Fosbretabulin Improves Progression-Free Su...

Bevacizumab Plus Fosbretabulin Improves Progression-Free Survival in Ovarian Cancer Patients

November 14, 2014

The combination of the antiangiogenesis drug bevacizumab and the vascular-disrupting agent fosbretabulin is superior to bevacizumab alone in the treatment of recurrent ovarian, tubal, and peritoneal cancer, according to an oral presentation made at the biennial meeting of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. A study found significant improvement in progression-free survival among patients treated with … Continued

Research

Amgen Ovarian Cancer Drug Fails to Improve Overall Survival

Amgen Ovarian Cancer Drug Fails to Improve Overall Survival

November 10, 2014

Amgen Inc said its experimental ovarian cancer drug did not show statistically significant improvement in overall survival rate in a late-stage trial. Patients given the drug, trebananib, along with a chemotherapy agent paclitaxel, experienced overall survival of 19.3 months, compared with 18.3 months for the placebo group. Analysts said oncologists expect the drug to have little or … Continued

Research

Partner Member Profile: Teal Diva

Partner Member Profile: Teal Diva

October 30, 2014

Teal Diva’s origins lie in a common need of those affected by ovarian cancer: support. When Shannon Routh was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2009, she also discovered that she would be unable to have children, despite her young age. For Shannon this made relating with other survivors difficult, as many of the survivors she … Continued

Community

Diet May Influence Ovarian Cancer Survival

Diet May Influence Ovarian Cancer Survival

October 24, 2014

According to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, a good diet before diagnosis is linked with lower mortality among ovarian cancer survivors. Researchers analyzed data from 636 cases of ovarian cancer among postmenopausal women within the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study or Clinical Trials from 1993 to 1998. The … Continued

Research

Use of Intensive Medical Services for Ovarian Cancer Patien...

Use of Intensive Medical Services for Ovarian Cancer Patients at End of Life Increases Despite Rise in Use of Hospice

October 19, 2014

There have been widespread efforts to improve the quality of life of terminally ill patients. As more patients choose to spend their final days and weeks in hospice care rather than a hospital, the hope is the use of intensive and costly hospital services would decline. A large new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers … Continued

Research

Telomere Length and Mortality Following An Ovarian Cancer D...

Telomere Length and Mortality Following An Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

October 19, 2014

Telomeres are essential for the maintenance of chromosomal integrity. Telomere shortening leads to genomic instability, which is hypothesized to play a role in cancer development and prognosis. New data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, provide preliminary evidence that telomere length likely does not predict outcome after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. This represents … Continued

Research

Detection of Gene Mutations in Tampons of Patients With Hig...

Detection of Gene Mutations in Tampons of Patients With High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

October 14, 2014

(October 14, 2014) In a pilot study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers detected DNA derived from tumor cells in the vaginas of 60% of patients with ovarian cancer with intact fallopian tubes. With further development, this approach may hold promise for the early detection of this deadly disease. Click here to read … Continued

Research

Ovarian Cancer Oncogene Found in ‘Junk DNA’

Ovarian Cancer Oncogene Found in ‘Junk DNA’

October 6, 2014

(October 6, 2014) A research team based at the University of Pennsylvania mined junk DNA sequences to identify a non-protein-coding RNA whose expression is linked to ovarian cancer.  The study, which was published in Cancer Cell, was supported in part by an OCRF research grant to Lin Zhang, MD. The researchers built a DNA copy … Continued

Research

Partner Member Profile: Lilies of the Valley

Partner Member Profile: Lilies of the Valley

September 29, 2014

Lilies of the Valley got its start in 2004 when a new gynecologic oncologist moved to the city of Huntsville, Alabama. His wife had a friend with ovarian cancer, and she noticed that there were no support groups available for women with this disease. Current Executive Director Regina Parker recalls: “She got together with some … Continued

Community

SGO Perspectives on Endpoints for Studies of Ovarian Cancer

SGO Perspectives on Endpoints for Studies of Ovarian Cancer

September 29, 2014

(Sept. 29, 2014) In a perspective piece for the website MedPage Today, representatives from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology discuss clinical endpoints appropriate for studies addressing the “unique characteristics” of ovarian cancer and progress toward improving outcomes for women affected by the disease. In the article, co-authors Thomas J. Herzog, MD, of the University of Cincinnati … Continued

Research

Maintenance Pazopanib in Ovarian Cancer: No Survival Benefi...

Maintenance Pazopanib in Ovarian Cancer: No Survival Benefit, High Rate of Complications

September 25, 2014

(Sept. 25, 2014) Maintenance therapy with the oral agent pazopanib improved progression free survival (PFS) by a median of 5.6 months in patients with advanced ovarian cancer but did not impact overall survival, according to the results of a phase III randomized trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In this clinical trial, which … Continued

Research