As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rosenthal et al found evidence of a shift to an earlier stage among ovarian cancers detected in high-risk women in the UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study. Study Details The study was performed to evaluate performance of screening using...
In a single-institution experience reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gershenson et al at MD Anderson Cancer Center found that hormonal maintenance therapy was associated with improved progression-free survival among women with stage II to IV low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary or...
According to the National Cancer Institute, uterine sarcomas are rare gynecologic malignancies comprising between 2% and 5% of all uterine malignancies. Leiomyosarcomas, which arise from myometrial muscle, account for 30% of all uterine sarcomas. These aggressive, rare cancers are characterized by...
In the FIRES prospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Rossi et al found that sentinel lymph node mapping was highly accurate in detecting metastases compared with complete lymphadenectomy in women with endometrial cancer. Study Details The study included women with clinical stage ...
Cervical cancer is a preventable disease if detected on time, but it remains one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women in Latin America, particularly women of poor and indigenous communities. A new study by the University of Michigan published by Gottschlich et al in the Journal of...
Although many studies have linked obesity with an increased risk for endometrial cancer, information about the influence of weight loss on the cancer in postmenopausal women has been limited. Now, a study by Luo et al evaluating the association of weight change and endometrial cancer risk among...
Moore et al found that mirvetuximab soravtansine (also known as IMGN853)—an antibody-drug conjugate targeting folate receptor alpha (FRα)—is active in FRα-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a phase I expansion cohort study reported in the Journal of...
A team of University of South Carolina scientists led by Carolyn Banister, PhD, and Phillip Buckhaults, PhD, identified a new subtype of cervical cancer that, like most cervical cancers, is triggered by human papillomavirus (HPV), but whose growth is not directed by the virus, suggesting that...
In a Dutch trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rutten et al found that initial diagnostic laparoscopy can prevent futile primary cytoreductive surgery in patients with suspected advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Study Details In the trial, 201 women who were qualified for primary...
Mutations that have been linked to endometrial cancer can be found in the uterine lavage fluid of pre- and postmenopausal women both with and without detectable cancer, according to a study published by Nair et al in PLOS Medicine. “Today, there are no effective screening methods for...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted accelerated approval to rucaparib (Rubraca) to treat women with advanced ovarian cancer who have been treated with two or more chemotherapies and whose tumors have a specific gene mutation (deleterious BRCA) as identified by an FDA-approved...
In part 1 of the phase II ARIEL2 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Swisher et al found that the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib was associated with prolonged progression-free survival among patients with relapsed platinum-sensitive high-grade ovarian carcinoma who had...
Johns Hopkins Medicine specialists reported they have developed a urine test for the likely emergence of cervical cancer that is highly accurate compared to other tests based on genetic markers derived directly from cervical tissue. The new urine test, they said, is different because it analyzes...
While it is well established that obesity is closely linked to endometrial cancer risk, most past findings have only looked at risk in relation to one measure of body size at a time. In a new study led by the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, published by Horn-Ross et al in Cancer Causes...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Liu et al found no progression-free survival benefit of adding the anti-HER3 (ErbB3) antibody seribantumab to paclitaxel in unselected patients with advanced platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian cancer. However, exploratory...
Positive results were announced on October 26, 2016, from the phase III SOLO-2 trial, designed to determine the efficacy of olaparib (Lynparza) tablets (300 mg twice daily) as a monotherapy for the maintenance treatment of platinum-sensitive, BRCA-mutated relapsed ovarian cancer. Results from the...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended that 11- to 12-year-olds receive 2 doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at least 6 months apart rather than the previously recommended 3 doses to protect against cancers caused by HPV infections. Teens and young adults who ...
In a phase III trial reported at the recent European Society for Medical Oncology Congress and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Mirza et al, maintenance therapy with the PARP (poly ADP ribose polymerase) 1/2 inhibitor niraparib significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs placebo...
The PARP inhibitor niraparib significantly improves the outcome of platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer, according to full data from the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial presented by Mirza et al at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Copenhagen (Abstract LBA3_PR), and...
Patients with cervical and endometrial cancer have fewer gastrointestinal and genitourinary side effects and experience better quality of life when treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) than with conventional radiation therapy, according to research presented by Klopp et al at...
Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and and other U.S. health and academic institutions shows a diet high in calcium and low in lactose may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in African American women. The work, published by Qin et al in the British Journal of Cancer, also found sun ...
Maintenance olaparib (Lynparza) appeared to be associated with an overall survival benefit vs placebo in women with platinum-sensitive serous ovarian cancer and BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, according to an updated analysis of a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology by Ledermann et al....
Bilateral oophorectomy was associated with prevention of premenopausal breast cancer in BRCA2- but not BRCA1-mutation carriers, according to a study reported by Kotsopoulos et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study included 3,722 women with BRCA mutations in a prospective...
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with shorter survival vs primary cytoreductive surgery in patients with stage IIIC ovarian cancer, according to a multi-institute observational study reported by Meyer et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study involved 1,538 women with stage IIIC...
Despite access to and use of antiretroviral therapy, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection was associated with reduced survival in women with cervical cancer in Botswana, according to a study reported by Dryden-Peterson et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details The study...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting women about the risks associated with the use of tests being marketed as ovarian cancer screening tests. The agency is especially concerned about delaying effective preventive treatments for women who show no symptoms but who are still at...
Deaths from ovarian cancer fell worldwide between 2002 and 2012, and are predicted to continue to decline in the United States, European Union (EU) and Japan by 2020, according to new research published by Malvezzi et al in Annals of Oncology. The main reason is the use of oral contraceptives and...
Vaccarella et al estimated changes in the incidence of cervical cancer through 2040 in six Baltic, central, and eastern European (BCEE) countries on the hypotheses of continued absence of effective screening programs vs progressive implementation of such programs. Their findings were reported in...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Clovis Oncology’s New Drug Application (NDA) for accelerated approval of rucaparib and granted Priority Review status to the application with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of February 23, 2017. Rucaparib is an...
As reported by Alexi A. Wright, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) have released a clinical practice guideline on neoadjuvant therapy for patients with newly diagnosed stage IIIC or IV...
As reported by Esselen et al in JAMA Oncology, cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) tests and computed tomography (CT) scans for surveillance in women with ovarian cancer continue to be used routinely, although their benefit has not been proven and the practices have significant quality-of-life and economic ...
ASCO and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) today issued a joint clinical practice guideline on ovarian cancer treatment. The guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on whether to use neoadjuvant chemotherapy or surgery as the initial treatment for women with stage IIIC and IV...
Receiving an invitation to get screened for cervical cancer is associated with a greater likelihood of getting screened, according to a study published by Tavasoli et al in Preventive Medicine. The study explored the impact of invitation and reminder letters on cervical cancer screening...
Harmonized recommendations for surveillance of premature ovarian insufficiency in female survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancers have been published by van Dorp et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on behalf of the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer...
In a prospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Shu et al found that risk for serous/serous-like endometrial carcinoma appeared to be increased after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) without hysterectomy in women harboring the BRCA1 mutation. The overall risk of uterine cancer...
A new study from the University of Illinois confirms a link between Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screenings and a lower risk of developing cervical cancer in women over age 65. However, most American health guidelines discourage women in that age range from receiving screenings unless they have...
A surgical procedure recommended to reduce the future risk of ovarian cancer has been successfully implemented throughout Kaiser Permanente in Northern California without a change in surgical outcomes, according to research published by Garcia et al in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Previous...
On July 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Roche cobas HPV Test as the first test for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that can be used with cervical cells obtained for a Papanicolau (Pap) test and collected in SurePath Preservative Fluid. The FDA approves HPV tests to be used...
A new study has identified a gene signature that predicts poor survival from ovarian cancer. The study also identified genes which help the cancer develop resistance to chemotherapy—offering a new route to help tackle the disease. The study, published by Kelly et al in the International...
Although high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is essential for developing high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2 and CIN3) and has also been associated with noncervical anogenital cancers, little is known about the long-term risk for anal, vulvar, and vaginal cancer following a...
According to the European phase III PENELOPE trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kurzeder et al found that adding pertuzumab (Perjeta) to investigator’s choice of chemotherapy did not improve progression-free survival in women with low-HER3 mRNA–expressing...
Although most patients with advanced ovarian cancer initially respond to platinum-based chemotherapy, they usually relapse. According to a study by Böhm et al published in Clinical Cancer Research, neoadjuvant chemotherapy seemed to alter the immune cells in the tumors of patients with...
Adding the vascular-disrupting agent fosbretabulin to bevacizumab (Avastin) improved outcomes in patients with recurrent ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal carcinoma, according to a randomized phase II NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Monk et...
For some women with advanced ovarian cancer that was successfully treated surgically, delivering chemotherapy intraperitoneally as well as intravenously appears more effective than intravenous chemotherapy alone. For women who were initially treated with chemotherapy prior to surgery, the ...
Nearly 20% of women with ovarian cancer do not undergo surgery, despite it being a standard part of treatment recommendations, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings, which suggest that women may live four times longer with...
On May 25, ASCO issued its first clinical practice guideline on invasive cervical cancer. This resource-stratified guideline is the first of its kind from ASCO, offering treatment recommendations tailored to resource availability. Access to cervical cancer care varies between regions of the...
Cytopathology researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital recently found that combining two diagnostic tests—the Papanicolau (Pap) and high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV)—dramatically decreased the chance of missing tumors and high-grade lesions by sevenfold. Zhou et al published...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Bailey et al, ASCO has released a statement on increasing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent HPV-related cancers in the United States. In the United States, HPV is estimated to cause approximately 99.7% of cervical cancers, 60% of...
The new investigational anticancer therapeutic BGB-283, which targets the RAF family of proteins, was safe, tolerable, and showed signs of clinical activity in patients who had a range of types of cancer with mutations in BRAF, KRAS, and NRAS, according to results from a phase I clinical trial...
Use of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines should be rapidly expanded to protect thousands of young people in the United States—and millions worldwide—from life-threatening cancers, ASCO said April 11 in a policy statement. Published by Bailey et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,...