News

Updates from the 2014 Society for Gynecologic Oncology Annu...

Updates from the 2014 Society for Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting

April 1, 2014

Compiled by Robin Cohen, President-Elect, Ovarian Cancer National Alliance As in years past, a wealth of clinical research into ovarian cancer was presented at the 2014 Society for Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) meeting. Some of the biggest news for the ovarian cancer community is summarized below, including SGO’s recommendations regarding genetic testing of ovarian cancer patients … Continued

Advocacy

2015 OCRF Requests for Proposals Now Available

2015 OCRF Requests for Proposals Now Available

April 1, 2014

(April 1, 2014)  Ovarian Cancer Research Fund is now accepting Letters of Intent for its three research grant programs.  Letters of Intent must be submitted by May 6, 2014 at 5:00pm ET.

OCRA News

Causative mutation found for rare form of ovarian cancer af...

Causative mutation found for rare form of ovarian cancer affecting young women

March 26, 2014

A rare type of ovarian cancer called small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type (or SCCOHT) can affect women and girls as young as 14 months old. This week, researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Arizona, announced that they had found a mutation in a gene called SMARCA4 responsible for this … Continued

Research

Vynfinit gains European approval for treatment of platinum-...

Vynfinit gains European approval for treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

March 26, 2014

Last week, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP – the equivalent to the FDA in the United States, recommended approval for vynfinit in the treatment of some platinum resistant ovarian cancers. Vynfinit, developed by Endocyte, targets ovarian cancer cells that have abnormally high levels of the folate receptor. … Continued

Advocacy

Gene Mutation Causes Rare Ovarian Cancer

Gene Mutation Causes Rare Ovarian Cancer

March 25, 2014

(March 25, 2014) In what is being hailed as a major discovery, findings published this week indicate that researchers have discovered a gene mutation that causes Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary, Hypercalcemic type. OCRF Scientific Advisory Committee member, and former grantee, Douglas A. Levine, MD, is senior author of one of three papers on … Continued

Research

Partner Member Profile: Bluegrass Ovarian Cancer Support

Partner Member Profile: Bluegrass Ovarian Cancer Support

March 25, 2014

When Suzi Shoemaker was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006, she assumed there would be a support group for her in Lexington, Kentucky. After her first experience with a Women’s Cancer Group, where she was told “We only had one member with ovarian cancer, and she just died,” Suzi decided there was a need for … Continued

Community

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments March 25 on Birth Control C...

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments March 25 on Birth Control Coverage

March 24, 2014

On March 25 the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two lawsuits that challenge whether for-profit employers must provide health insurance that covers birth control. The lawsuits involve a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance plans to cover preventive health services, including contraceptives. A number of companies challenged the law, arguing that … Continued

Advocacy

SGO Position Statement on Genetic Testing for Gynecologic C...

SGO Position Statement on Genetic Testing for Gynecologic Cancer

March 20, 2014

(March 20, 2014) The Society for Gynecologic Oncology has released a statement on the use of genetic testing for women with gynecologic cancer. The statement says that women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers should receive genetic counseling and consider genetic testing, even in the absence of a family history of cancer. … Continued

Research

Avastin and Chemo for Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Inc...

Avastin and Chemo for Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Increases Progression Free Survival

March 20, 2014

(March 20, 2014) A group of French researchers conducted a randomized, phase III trial (called AURELIA) combining bevacizumab (Avastin) with chemotherapy in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.  The results of the trial, which enrolled 361 patients, were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included objective … Continued

Research

New analysis links ovarian cancer to obesity

New analysis links ovarian cancer to obesity

March 14, 2014

This week, a new analysis showed that women that are overweight or obese have a moderately higher risk of developing ovarian cancer than women at normal weight. The study, released by the American Institute for Cancer Research, analyzed the data from 28 studies of over 16,000 women with ovarian cancer and showed that women who … Continued

Research

Weekly Carboplatin Plus Paclitaxel Improves Quality of Life

Weekly Carboplatin Plus Paclitaxel Improves Quality of Life

March 14, 2014

(March 14, 2014)  A large European clinical trial showed that carboplatin plus paclitaxel once a week (versus every three weeks) can be an effective front-line treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer. The results of the study were published in the medical journal The Lancet. Carboplatin plus paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks is standard first-line … Continued

Research

OCRF Research Shows Glycans Can Identify Ovarian Cancer

OCRF Research Shows Glycans Can Identify Ovarian Cancer

March 11, 2014

OCRF-funded research at UC Davis have verified that glycans (sugars attached to proteins) can be used to identify ovarian cancer. The study was published online in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “This is one of many papers we’ve done to see if glycans can distinguish between women who have ovarian cancer and those who … Continued

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