More ovarian cancer news
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According to a new study in Cancer many women with ovarian cancer are undertreated: “women who were over 70, of African American or Hispanic race, or insured by Medicaid, were at greatest risk for undertreatment. In addition, women treated by non-gynecological oncologists, by surgeons who perform few ovarian cancer surgeries, and at facilities that perform fewer than 10 procedures per year were less likely to receive recommended surgical care.”
In a paper in Fertility and Sterility researchers report that “Infertility drugs may be safely used in women who have been treated for borderline ovarian tumors”.
Galina Lurie and associates report in Obstetrics & Gynecology that “Oral contraceptives with low levels of estrogen and progestin reduce the risk of ovarian cancer even more than older versions” of birth control pills. They also report that women who had used any type of birth control pill had a 50% less chance of getting ovarian cancer than those who hadn’t taken them at all. Those who had taken pills with higher levels of estrogen and progestin had their risk reduced by 38%, while those who took the ones with lower levels of both hormones had their risk reduced by 81%.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have that they can use RNA interference to knock down the expression of polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB). PTB is a protein that tends to be overexpressed in human ovarian tumors and in involved in alternative splicing. Reducing the expression of PTB was found to be able to interfere with ovarian tumor growth. This protein could potentially become a new target for treating cancer in the future.
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December 19, 2006
Ovarian Cancer Update
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Hate the cold? Need a good reason to move to a warmer area?
Some recent research now shows a correlation between the chance of developing ovarian cancer and living in a sunnier region. The study which appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looked at ovarian cancer rates in 175 countries and found a correlation between latitude and UV exposure levels. Basically, women who live in sunnier places have a lower chance of developing ovarian cancer. It could be that these women have more vitamin D production.
Or it could be that its just a correlation and doesn’t really mean anything at all.
And then of course there is the whole skin cancer risk.
Should you move to a sunny place or stand out in the sun all day to avoid ovarian cancer? No, of course not. This is not a good reason to move. The author of the study suggests people make sure they get enough vitamin D. Shouldn’t people being doing that already?
And as long as I’m in the mood for writing about research that states the obvious –
Another study, this one in Cancer, by Dr. Andrew Li of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles looked at data from 216 women who had surgery for ovarian cancer between 1996 and 2003. What they found is that women who are obese or overweight have a lower survival rate than those who aren’t. Is this really surprising to anyone? There is all sorts of data indicating that obese people are susceptible to all sorts of health complications.
I was hoping to get out of this mood by now – but I guess not.
I read another article that claims that the symptoms of ovarian cancer aren’t really that vague and most women who are diagnosed had a number of previous warning signs. Some of these symptoms are:
Abdominal discomfort or bloating.
Persistent gastrointestinal upset.
Frequent or urgent urination.
Unexplained weight loss or gain.
Ongoing unusual fatigue.
Unexplained changes in bowel habits.
I pretty much have all these symptoms all the time and always have. I guess its just a matter of degree, but without some way of quantitating these – its pretty useless. The bottom line is that there is still no way to effectively diagnose ovarian cancer in its early stages.
On the positive side, apparently there has been some progress made in treating ovarian cancer in the past 40 years. In the 70’s the drugs available weren’t too effective. In the 80’s and 90’s platinum based drugs were used. Since then a combination of platinum and taxane given intraperitoneally has been used and can reduce the death rate by as much as 55%. This was in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Of course the death rate from ovarian cancer is still appalling. About 3 out of 4 women diagnosed with it will die. With around 20,000 women diagnosed with it per year, that’s around 15,000 per year dead.
That’s a pretty negative post for this time of year isn’t it? I promise I will try to be more positive next time!
(Technorati Tags: ovarian cancer, health, vitamin D)
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July 28, 2006
Ovarian cancer and stress
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Anil K. Sood of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is a leading ovarian cancer researcher. In a recent publication his group has shown that stress can result in ovarian cancer tumors growing and spreading faster.
VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) is a growth factor that leads to the process of growing new blood vessels (angiogenesis). For tumors to be able to grow past a certain size they need more oxygen and to get that oxygen they need blood vessels.
Some researchers in Anil’s group had previously noticed that women with ovarian cancer who said they had high stress levels also had a greater amount of VEGF. And that women with more social support had lower levels.
Anil’s group then stressed some mice which had ovarian cancer. The mice that were stressed had more tumors and in many of them the tumors had spread to other parts of their body also.
What they also noticed was that these stressed mice also had higher levels of VEGF – as well as MMP2 and MMP9. The MMP (matrix metalloproteinase) proteins are a type of enzyme that breaks down proteins by breaking the bonds between the amino acids, specifically they are in a group called ‘endopeptidases’. Even more specifically MMP2 and MMP9 belong in a subgroup of the MMP proteins called gelatinases which are believed to be involved in metastasis (the spreading of cancer to different places in the body).
Stressed mice were then given a beta-blocker called propranolol. Beta-blockers block receptors for epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) which are released in response to stress. The beta-blockers seem to be able to reverse the effect of the stress.
These results may be able to help researchers find new ways to fight cancer in the future.
I can’t help but think that all women who have ovarian cancer are likely to be stressed! Who wouldn’t be? Either way its one more reason to try to help reduce the stress in people with cancer. I have heard of cases where co-workers with cancer were not treated well at all. I’m sure most of us do whatever we can to make someone we love with cancer as comfortable as possible though.
Anil’s results can be found in Nature Medicine.
(Technorati Tags: ovarian cancer, stress, VEGF, MMP2, MMP9)
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July 17, 2006
Reduce ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1/2 women
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Last week a new study came out concerning women with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and breast cancer. Women with these mutations have a much greater chance of developing breast, ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer.
A large group of women – 1,828 to be exact – with these mutations were followed for 3 and a half years. It was found that the women who had their ovaries removed (known as an oophorectomy) lowered their chances of getting ovarian cancer by 80%!
It should be noted that these were women who had their ovaries removed before they had any known cancer, as a preventative measure.
On the other hand, about 4% of them still got cancer anyway.
You may ask – how could someone get ovarian cancer if they have no ovaries? Well, this is because they got the cancer in the lining of their abdomen (called the peritoneum), which is similiar tissue to that of the ovaries.
Many doctors recommend that women with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations have their ovaries removed once they are done having kids or by age 35 – 40.
Results of this study were published in the July 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
(Technorati Tags: ovarian cancer, BRCA1, BRCA2, mutations, women)
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Related Posts:
- Breast cancer: BRCA2 and DNA repair
- Preliminary research results and the media – more harm than good?
- Breast cancer gene product has role in translation
April 13, 2006
Ovarian cancer news review
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This is my first post about ovarian cancer. I had planned to include it from the beginning, but wanted to wait a while in part because it is so scary. It is not something I’ve read much about yet, so this first post will just be a brief and general overview and review of the lastest news about ovarian cancer that has been released recently.
There is about a 1 in 58 chance for a woman to get ovarian cancer. Most women who do get it, get it after menopause.
As I’m sure you all know, there is not yet a routine way to detect ovarian cancer when it is in its early stages. Most of the symptoms are vague and only about 20% of ovarian cancers are caught early. Unfortunately this means that by the time someone has obvious symptoms and the cancer is found it may be too late to do much to help. However, if it is diagnosed early, over 90% of people can be treated pretty effectively.
Much research is being done though to help find a way to detect it earlier. Potential methods include a blood test to detect proteins that act as markers for the disease. Recently some researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine presented their findings on a study they did that screened blood samples of ovarian cancer patients for the presence of proteins that might indicate they have the disease.
These researchers tested 450 blood samples and found 20 proteins they could use to distinguish 98% of those with ovarian cancer from those without it. They hope that in a few years this test will be further developed to be able to be used to screen for the cancer.
There is also some evidence found just recently of a protein found in urine that might indicate presence of the cancer. [Somewhat OT – the protein is Bcl-2 – I did my prelim in graduate school about Bcl-2 and apoptosis. That was some years ago though and I am not up-to-date on research of Bcl-2, but I will try to follow up on this research.]
So, what can we do meanwhile? All the same things we are always told to do, but can be difficult at times: eat right and stay fit!
One new study shows that women who have a higher than average level of dietary flavonoids might have a lower chance of getting ovarian cancer. Foods high in flavonoids include tea, red wine, soybeans, fruits and vegetables. And recently one new study came out that showed that adding ginger to ovarian cancer cell cultures would cause the cells to die. Whether or not ginger has an effect on ovarian cancer cells in an actual live person is not known.
(Hmm, last weekend I bought some ginger and tofu and vegetables to stir fry – but I’ve been too lazy to get around to doing it! I guess I know what I will be eating tonight! Unless I get to feeling lazy again and grab something fast instead!)
(Technorati Tags: ovarian cancer, women, research)
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Related Posts:
- Women’s Health Weekly Review: June 22 – June 28
- Blood test to detect breast cancer
- Ovarian cancer and stress