In a unanimous ruling issued June 13, 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled that private companies do not have the right to patent human genes. In Association for Molecular Pathology et al. v. Myriad Genetics, the court considered the validity of patents held by the Utah-based company Myriad Genetics for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which … Continued
Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Advocate Report from Laurel Pracht As a member of the SNMMI Advocate Advisory Board, formed in 2010 to better bridge the gap between the patient and nuclear medicine communities, I represent the ovarian patient community. Other diseases, including cancer, brain and heart disease are represented as well. … Continued
Ruling Will Give Women More Options to Learn About Genetic Risk Washington, DC—The Supreme Court ruled today that a company cannot patent naturally occurring genes, including isolated gene segments, overturning a decision made by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in August 2012, which upheld a patent claim on the BRCA1 … Continued
A new meta-analysis of more than 6000 studies shows that oral contraceptives significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. The risk reduction increases proportionally with duration of use. See the abstract here
In research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting this week, researchers found that shortening the break between chemotherapy sessions improved quality of life for patients, without negatively impacting efficacy. Results from a randomized, phase III trial of over 800 women conducted in Italy showed that lower-dose weekly carboplatin plus paclitaxel was associated … Continued
Research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting this week suggests that adding the drug pazopanib (trade name Votrient) to standard treatment extends progression-free survival in ovarian cancer patients by 5.6 months. Pazopanib is an oral anti-angiogenesis drug already approved to treat kidney cancer. The phase III study of over 900 women … Continued
Like many women with ovarian cancer, Joan Wyllie was misdiagnosed by multiple doctors before learning she had stage IV ovarian cancer. Once she learned what was causing her symptoms, Joan recalls, “For some reason, I was not one bit afraid. I knew I would be doing something [to help women with ovarian cancer] but I … Continued
In a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on May 6, 2013, researchers reported results of a study investigating menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT) use and the incidence of ovarian cancer. When a report from the Women’s Health Initiative linked breast cancer incidence to the use of menopausal hormonal therapy in 2002, there … Continued
A new study shows that rates of ovarian cancer decreased around the same time that the use of hormone replacement therapy dropped off. Overall, for women over 50, rates decreased by 21 percent from 1995 to 2008, from 38 cases out of 100,000 women to 30 out of 100,000. However, the author cautions that this … Continued
Actress Angelina Jolie recently announced that she carries a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, which makes her more likely to develop breast and ovarian cancer. In the wake of that news, many media outlets reached out to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance for commentary and perspective. Our CEO, Calaneet Balas, wrote a letter to the … Continued
How a daughter's homemade nutritional ice chips for her mother became LifeIce.
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