Two-Stage Screening Strategy for Ovarian Cancer Continues to Show Progress
A two-stage ovarian cancer screening strategy substantially improved early-stage detection among average-risk postmenopausal women, according to long-term follow-up from a large prospective study. Combining serial CA125 values and conditional referral for transvaginal sonography (TVS) led to a sensitivity of 74% for detection of ovarian and borderline cancers. Cancers detected by the Risk of Ovarian Cancer […]
CDK4/6 Inhibition Active in Recurrent Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
TAMPA, Fla. — About a fourth of patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) obtained durable responses to the combination of CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib (Kisqali) and letrozole, a small single-arm trial showed. Overall, 23% of 48 patients had partial responses, increasing to 26% in those who had baseline and confirmatory CT scans. Almost 80% […]
OS Benefit Eludes Second-Line Niraparib Maintenance in Ovarian Cancer
For women with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer, maintenance therapy using an individualized starting dose of niraparib (Zejula) did not improve overall survival (OS) despite producing a statistically and clinically significant progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in the phase III NORA study. An interim analysis of the key secondary endpoint showed a median OS of 46.3 months […]
Nonselective Beta-Blockers May Improve Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer
Women with cardiovascular conditions (CVCs) and ovarian cancer had better 2-year survival if they received a nonselective beta blocker (NSBB) at or around the time of cancer surgery, a review of medical records showed. Two-year postoperative survival was 80% in the patients who received NSBBs versus 69% for those who did not receive NSBBs. The […]
Doctors Misdiagnosed Both My Friend And Me. I Lived. She Didn’t.
I was in a dusty dorm room hallway when Tori told me. “It’s cancer. Ovarian. Stage IIIC,” she said into the phone in an eerily calm way. Actually, calm is what she would remain over the next 1½ years of her cancer battle ― the opposite of my assumed reaction to such a diagnosis, which […]
My Belly Button Saved My Life
I knew what to look for, but I missed the signs. I went to an ovarian cancer awareness walk a decade before I was diagnosed with it at the age of 44. I took home pamphlets describing it as a “silent killer” because most people miss the symptoms, which include frequent urination, feeling full quickly, […]