Search Results for brca

Exploiting a Metabolic Dependency of PARPinhibitor-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) remains the deadliest form of ovarian cancer, in part because most patients develop recurrent disease that is resistant to standard treatment, including platinum therapy. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis) have recently been approved as an important therapy for HGSOCs, especially for HGSOCs with defects in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair due to mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2…

Targeting Therapeutic Resistance to PARP Inhibition in Ovarian Cancer

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) accounts for more than 70% of all ovarian cancer deaths. Most women with HGSOC are diagnosed when the disease is at an advanced, and therefore less curable, stage. PARP inhibitors are the first FDA-approved biological agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer with the specific feature-homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). PARP inhibitors have shown great promise in the treatment for HGSOC patients…

Exploiting PARP-Modulating Enzymes in Ovarian Cancer Therapy

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most common type of ovarian carcinoma and the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancy. The gold standard therapy for women with HGSOC is a combination of surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy. Although the majority of patients initially respond well to this treatment, eventually their tumors recur and become resistant to the first line chemotherapy…

Dr. Rugang Zhang in research lab

A False Alarm, and a Wake-Up Call to Fight Ovarian Cancer

Rugang Zhang, Ph.D. Imagine, if you will, a scene from yesteryear: rows of telephone operators sitting in front of giant switchboards, lights blinking on and off in seemingly random patterns, hands working quickly to plug and unplug wires in order to foster connections.  If you can picture that, you can begin to get a sense of the impact Dr…

Science Made Simple FB

What Are Biomarkers?

Most car owners have experienced the frustration of a blinking "check engine" light at one point or another. While the blinking light signals that something is wrong, only the results of diagnostic tests performed by the mechanic can pinpoint exactly what is going on under the hood. In the world of medicine, a symptom is like the "check engine" light…

Racial Disparities in Ovarian Cancer Video

Racial Disparities in Ovarian Cancer are Real

Dr. Dineo Khabele, Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and member of OCRA’s Scientific Advisory Committee, spoke at our 2020 Ovarian Cancer National Conference about the racial disparities in ovarian cancer incidences and outcomes. While there are more documented cases of ovarian cancer in white patients…

2021 Grantees OCRA

OCRA Awards Millions in New Ovarian Cancer Research Grants

Despite the challenges of fundraising during a global pandemic, your generous support allowed us to fund 16 top scientists at 14 esteemed medical centers across the globe. They will investigate important issues across the ovarian cancer landscape in this coming year. These grants enable the brightest minds in cancer research to tackle long-standing issues like ovarian cancer drug resistance…

Dr. Liya Ding

Liya Ding, PhD

Liya Ding, PhD, is an Instructor in the Department of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ding received her B.E. from Tianjin University of Science & Technology, China and Ph.D. from Fudan University, China. After postdoctoral training in the area of epigenetic regulation of gene expression in cancer initiation and progression at Mayo Clinic…

Amy Hollub

At Your Own Pace, In Your Own Space: How to Be a Hero in a Pandemic

“I don’t think of myself as a hero,” said Amy Hollub, ovarian cancer survivor who—along with the help of her family, close friends, and an advisory board—spearheaded a fundraising event in Miami. “It’s my whole community.” Amy and her husband getting ready to run Indeed, the idea of community plays a big role in Amy’s ovarian cancer experience – from her own family history to those in her synagogue who have been touched by women’s cancers…

Research News OCRA

What’s New in Ovarian Cancer Research and Treatment

A bright spot in 2020 for the ovarian cancer community has been the ongoing developments in research and treatments. Advances continue to be made, as researchers study the effectiveness of PARP inhibitors as maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer, the most effective way to implement immunotherapy agents, the key factors that can affect the success of secondary debulking surgery…

OCRA Overview News October 2020

The Overview: October 2020

It’s been an incredibly busy end of summer/beginning of fall here at OCRA with a double header of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and our Uniting for Hope Ovarian Cancer National Conference. We’ve learned so much and strengthened our community. Here are just some of the ways: RESEARCH OCRA is thrilled to announce a partnership with Microsoft’s AI for Health initiative to accelerate ovarian cancer research by harnessing the power of data science and artificial intelligence (AI.) We hosted a listening session with the FDA to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on clinical trial participation…

The Overview OCRA

The Overview: July 2020

There’s so much happening at OCRA – from groundbreaking research to advocacy work, patient support to fundraising efforts. Starting this summer, we will share periodic highlights so that you can stay up to date on the latest. Research A pandemic won’t stop us from our mission to cure ovarian cancer. OCRA is now accepting applications for 2021 research grants…