Archive for the 'Ovarian Cancer' Category

Combining the new drug trabectedin with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin provides clinical benefit to women with relapsed ovarian cancer, according to new results.

The combination, which importantly does not include a platinum drug, challenges the current standard of treatment for women whose cancer recurs at least 6 months after first-line treatment, said Associate Prof. Bradley J. Monk from the University of California Irvine Medical Center.

“This trial, which included almost two-thirds such women, challenges this traditional paradigm and suggests that a non-platinum doublet is also effective in this setting,” he said.

“Trabectedin represents a ‘new chemical entity’ in North America and if approved by the FDA, would be an important new option for women with recurrent ovarian cancer.”

Trabectedin, a synthetic version of a compound first isolated from sea-squirts, has been granted marketing approval in Europe for the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma.

In the latest trial, an international group of researchers studied the combination in 672 women whose ovarian cancer had progressed after first-line therapy.

Half the women received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 30 mg/m2 over 60 min plus trabectedin 1.1mg/m2 over 3 hours every 3 weeks, the remainder received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 alone every 4 weeks.

A new survey had revealed that though ovarian cancer remains one of biggest gynaecological cancer killers, many women are unsure or unaware of the symptoms of the disease.

As many as 1,500 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and more than half of these women will not survive five years after their initial diagnosis.

The main reason is because more than 70 per cent of women are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when the cancer has spread and is difficult to treat successfully.

A new patient resource kit developed by Ovarian Cancer Australia (OvCa) has been designed to help women battling ovarian cancer and includes an information guide to living with the cancer and a daily diary for recording doctors’ appointments and setting goals.

The kit will be available to all women with ovarian cancer and aims to give women reliable and comprehensive information to help them to cope with the serious disease, which often has a devastating effect.

The survey of over 2,000 women revealed over 60 per cent of Australian women still believe an abnormal Pap test is a sign of ovarian cancer, even though a Pap test is designed to detect cervical cancer.

Women can survive from ovarian tumor if detected in early stages.

But it cannot be detected in early stages, as it shows mild or no symptoms until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage.

That’s the reason why it is called as “silent” cancer of the reproductive system. It ranks 5th in cancer deaths among women.

Ovarian tumor stages:

The ovarian tumor picture is classified into

Stage1: Confined only to ovaries

Stage2: Spreads to pelvis such as fallopian tube or uterus

Stage3: Spreads to lymph nodes and lining of abdomen

Stage4: Spreads to organs beyond abdomen

Early detection i.e. in stage 1 or 2 is benign ovarian tumor. Detection in this stage is hard but early detection can bring 5 years survival to 95%.

If the tumor is detected in 3rd or 4th stage, which is an advanced state of tumor, where this is spread to other organs, survival at this stage is less than 5%.

Tagging of the reasons:

• Epithelial tumor: the cancer tumors are developed in epithelial, the thin layer of tissue which covers ovaries and is seen in postmenopausal women.

Ovarian cancer usually attacks your ovaries first.

Ovarian cancer treatment depends on several factors such as cancer type, stage of your cancer, age and overall health condition, family planning and personal preference.

So, understand the risks and the possible side effects of each treatment option before you prefer the one for your ovarian cancer treatment.

Ovarian cancer is of three types: epithelial, germ cell, and stromal [Detecting the type of ovarian cancer]. These types can be treated through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Occasionally, your doctor may recommend a combination of these treatment options.

Surgery

The most common ovarian cancer treatment option is surgery. Your doctor may recommend you for surgery if you are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Surgery is used to remove cancerous cells as much as possible.

However, there are different types of surgeries for ovarian cancer. Remember that the name of the surgery depends on the organ that is removed and it always ends with ‘ectomy.’

A surgical procedure used to remove uterus is known as hysterectomy. During this surgery, if uterus is removed through vagina then it is known as vaginal hysterectomy.

Ovarian cancer is a cancer that initially affects the ovaries, a pair of female reproductive organs that produce eggs and are located on either sides of the uterus.

According to American Cancer Society, ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer that occurs in women.

It is estimated that approximately twenty-five thousand new cases of ovarian cancer is rising yearly, in the United States. It is commonly known as silent disease because you will not exhibit the symptoms of ovarian cancer unless it is in very advanced stage.

Thus, there will be delay in diagnosis. Hence the ovarian cancer is with very high mortality rate. The ovarian cancer is so deadly that it occurs in one out of every sixty women.

Remember that ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of tumor deaths in women. Experts also believe that seventy-six percent of women will survive for one year after diagnosing with this disease.

Ovarian cancer occurs mostly in women who pass menopause stage. As you become older, your possibility of getting ovarian cancer increases. However, knowing and having more information about the signs of ovarian cancer can make it easier for you to diagnose and treat successfully in early stages.

One of the cancers that are among the deadliest is ovarian cancer.

It is a cancer that initially attacks the ovaries.

It is named after its development in ovaries.

It is the fifth most common cancer among women.

The ovarian cancer is a very rare type of cancer but its overall chances of development are 1 out of every 100.

It is estimated that over twenty-five thousand women experience this deadly disease every year.

Before gaining knowledge about ovarian cancer, it is very important to understand what the ovaries are!

Ovaries are the female reproductive organs that produce eggs. These eggs then travel through the fallopian tubes into the uterus where the fertilized egg implants and develops into a fetus.

Actually, the ovaries have three types of tissues. Germ cells produce eggs, stromal cells generate the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, and epithelial cells cover the ovary.

Mainly, there are three types of ovarian cancers depending up on the kind of cells that the tumor initially attacks. Accordingly, the types are named. The types of this cancer are germ cell tumors, stromal tumors, and epithelial tumors.