"FDA Approves Olaparib for First-Line Maintenance of BRCA-Mutated, Advanced Ovarian Cancer https://tinyurl.com/yayx3drb On December 19, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germ-line or somatic BRCA-mutated advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The FDA also approved BRACA analysis CDx to be used by health-care professionals to identify patients with advanced ovarian cancer who have a germ-line BRCA mutation and are eligible for olaparib following response to platinum-based chemotherapy Lynparza (olaparib), a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, co-developed by AstraZeneca and Merck (known as MSD outside the US and Canada), has succeeded in a phase 3 trial (SOLO-3) held in patients with rel...

  The cost-effectiveness of opportunistic salpingectomy versus standard tubal ligation at the time of cesarean delivery for ovarian cancer risk reduction https://tinyurl.com/ybevpsa4 Opportunistic salpingectomy is a cost-effective strategy recommended for ovarian cancer risk reduction at the time of gynecologic surgery in women who have completed childbearing. https://tinyurl.com/y79oseav We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of opportunistic salpingectomy compared to standard tubal ligation (TL) during cesarean delivery. In 10,000 women desiring sterilization with cesarean, opportunistic salpingectomy would result in 17 fewer ovarian cancer diagnoses, 13 fewer ovarian cancer deaths, and 25 fewer unintended pregnancies compared to TL. In women undergoing cesarean with sterilization, opportunistic salpingectomy is likely cost-effective and may be cost saving in comparison to TL for ovarian cancer risk reduction.

 “Dietary fiber intake and reduced risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-018-0407-1 To the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis to summarize evidence between total dietary fiber intake and different types or sources of dietary fiber intake and risk of ovarian cancer. The risk of ovarian cancer was reduced by 22% in the group of highest dietary fiber intake compared with the lowest” http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/17938/holidays-occasions/christmas/ 'We bring gifts of gold, myrrh, and ovarian cancer treatment' https://lra.le.ac.uk/handle/2381/39946 Extracts from Boswellia sp. (Frankincense), used for centuries as herbal medicine in Asia, have known anti-inflammatory properties and anti-cancer potential alone or in combination with other chemotherapies. This suggests that frankincense may be useful for overcoming drug resistance, and it could also lead to an i...

“Effect of Cultural Folk and Religious Beliefs and Practices on Delays in Diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer in African American Women https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2018.7031 An individual's beliefs have the potential to affect cancer outcomes both positively and negatively. Religious practices and cultural/folk beliefs may be especially relevant for African Americans (AAs) with cancer. AAs are more likely than whites to have a religious affiliation and more likely to report praying, regardless of whether they identify with a specific religious affiliation. We conducted analyses among AA women in a multicenter case control study of ovarian cancer. Because many cultural/folk beliefs are intertwined with religious beliefs, our analyses evaluated specific cultural/folk beliefs as well as measures of participation in religious practices. We examined whether these beliefs and practices were associated with delays in ovarian cancer diagnosis as indicated by a later stage at d...

“Current Chemotherapy of Ovarian Cancer https://tinyurl.com/yans2wcg Optimal primary chemotherapy of advanced ovarian cancer has not substantially changed over the last few years, in spite of the extensive evaluation of new cytotoxic agents and diverse treatment strategies. The rapid development of drug resistance remains a major clinical challenge for the majority of patients While the combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel remains a well-tolerated and effective standard treatment for newly diagnosed ovarian cancer, there is continued interest in the discovery of new targets, as well as new approaches for inhibiting old targets When patients undergo complete surgical clearance and have a tumor that is limited to the ovary with the finding of clear cell histology, cure would be expected in the vast majority of cases. In contrast, early-stage serous tumors are often high-grade and have a greater risk of recurrence and are perhaps more likely to benefit from adjuva...

“Nuclear Medicine Procedures in Women: Unappreciated Risks to Reproductive Organs? https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2018172344 Radiation exposure in imaging include CT, PET, and an increasing number of newer diagnostic and therapeutic radio-pharmaceuticals, used primarily in cancer diagnosis, staging, and treatment are associated with a theoretical increase in the risk of secondary cancer, with younger patients at higher risk than the elderly. Women are particularly vulnerable to medical imaging radiation exposure, although the nature and extent of this vulnerability vary over time and depend on what type of imaging was performed. Accumulating evidence suggests that hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle are an underappreciated but avoidable source of vulnerability and risk to female reproductive organs, specifically ovaries, endometrium, and breasts. While it can be argued that the risks of diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures using relatively...