Ovarian cancer researcher’s generosity

Scientist donates £865,000 to establish charitable fund

https://tinyurl.com/thkl25o

Professor Nicola Curtin of Newcastle University was involved in the creation of Rubraca, a drug used in treatment of ovarian cancer. She has donated her share of the proceeds to a Community Foundation, which will help people to develop the skills, talents and confidence to overcome barriers to employment or education

The fund is named “The Curtin PARP Fund” after the drug a PARP Inhibitor and as an abbreviation of  “Passionate About Realising your Potential”.

Professor Curtin said, “I feel very privileged to have such a great career, I want to leave a lasting legacy that will change lives for the better. Like most scientists it's not the money that drives me, it's the intellectual challenge and the buzz I get from finding something out before anyone else knows it”.

No repeat surgery for ovarian cancer

Secondary Surgical Cytoreduction for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

https://tinyurl.com/slqtvjs

Primary treatment for advanced ovarian cancer is with surgery and chemotherapy. The completeness of the initial surgical resection correlates to the overall survival. 

Intuitively it has been thought that, for recurrent ovarian cancer, further surgery would be beneficial.

In this clinical trial treatment for 485 patients was randomly selected, 240 for repeat surgery before chemotherapy and 245, chemotherapy alone. 

No increase in survival was noted following surgery. Patients’ quality of life deteriorated in the immediate post-operative period

So, why do it?

When evidence says no: gynaecologists’ reasons for (not) recommending ineffective ovarian cancer screening

https://tinyurl.com/y4q2cyhn

Clinical trials have repeatedly shown screening for ovarian cancer to be futile and potentially harmful due to the risk of over diagnosis*. Despite this, in the USA, large numbers of gynaecologists continue to recommend screening to their patients.

This survey of 401 currently practising US gynaecologists showed about 60% advised screening. The criteria tested were knowledge of appropriate practice, understanding of statistics, what they thought their colleagues did and whether they thought financial conflict of interest might be a cause for other doctors' choices.

The results were that screeners justified their decision, saying their colleagues supported screening and they were responding to patient pressure. Most thought wrongly that clinical evidence supported their choice. Non-screeners thought financial interest was a cause for inappropriate screening and had a better understanding of approved practice. Of significance was the difference in knowledge of statistical concepts with most screeners failing the test and non-screeners usually being statistically literate.

*https://tinyurl.com/yxmuhb9s

Ovarian cancer and commerce

New Hope in the Battle Against Ovarian Cancer

https://tinyurl.com/yy86894h

There is commercial interest in developing personalised medical care. Ovarian cancer is a possibly lucrative opportunity. AI predictive models are using  large data sets of patient drug-treatment protocols, genetic information and historical outcomes to develop targeted therapeutics.

In collaboration with the UK 100,000 Genomes Project, which is an NHS project collecting genetic material from cancer patients, a US biotechnology company; Helomics currently has data from 38,000 cases of ovarian cancer. 

Helomics is looking at genetic variations and expression together with its data set of drug-response profiles to build an AI-driven predictive model of ovarian cancer. This will guide clinicians, as to which drug or drug combinations to use for ovarian cancer treatments.

Metformin and ovarian cancer

Metformin plus first-line chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer: a prospective open-label pilot trial

https://tinyurl.com/y4wg6hpy

This small study; looking at non-diabetic patients with ovarian cancer, half of whom received metformin in addition to normal platinum based chemo, the others chemo alone; showed no progression free survival benefit. 

Type two diabetic patients have a lower incidence of tumour development than healthy controls and those diabetic patients, treated with metformin, who are diagnosed with cancer, have a lower mortality.

https://tinyurl.com/y3dnkc2s

A recent hypothesis proposes that primary non-hereditary ovarian cancer risk factors are increased through the development of ovarian fibrosis. Metformin, which reduces fibrosis, may be protective. 

https://tinyurl.com/yy4ytghy