Redefining the Standard of Care for Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer https://tinyurl.com/432cxawp Low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSC) is rare being about 5% of all ovarian cancer, it has  many differences to the common high-grade disease and increasingly it is bei ng treated  as a separate   disease  wit h   targeted therapy  appropriate for  its  distinct  molecular  features. Recognition of this has led to a proposed new standard of care which  includes complete understanding of the  individual tumour with  appropriate hormonal  suppression for some and  use of MEK,   (Mitogen extracellular Kinase) inhibitors , these target protein pathways which increase cancer growth.  This treatment may be used alone or in combination with platinum chemo. Minimally invasive surgical techniques may be used which increases quality of life for the patient .   Genetic screening  should be included as part o...

CA-125 elimination rate constant K (KELIM) as a promising predictor of complete cytoreduction after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer patients: a retrospective study from two Chinese hospitals https://tinyurl.com/4rusbkw8 For many patients with ovarian cancer complete removal of the cancer at the time of the first surgery is not possible.  As with all surgery there are complications and some deaths. If complete resection is not possible  a   risk/benefit analysis should be  p e rformed  and discussed with the patient. For older  or frail  women chemotherapy alone may be  appropriate treatment . This retrospective study looked at  the surgical outcomes for 133 women who had chemo prior to surgery. The completeness of the cancer resection was compared to the  response  to chemo . This response was measured as the elimination  rate  of the tumour marker CA125, which is  expressed as  KELIM. Results...

Shared and Reciprocal Mechanisms Between Heart Failure and Cancer　― An Emerging Concept of Heart-Cancer Axis ― https://tinyurl.com/4bsub8j6 The commonest causes of death are heart failure ,   (30%) and cancer (15%). It has become clear  that there is an association between the two.  P atients with ovarian cancer have a 60% increased risk of developing heart failure. Patients w ith   heart  f ailure are  more likely (20%) to have cancer and have  a high er  risk   ( 70%)  of developing cancer. This article suggests the reasons for this  combination of disease. There are shared lifestyle factors such as age, smoking and obesity. Also,  common pathways of disease are present with inflammation ,  hypertension  and blood  cell  variation  called clonal haematopo i esis of indeterminate pathology (CHIP) . End stage disease of cancer, with cachexia also has an impact on cardiac muscle , with heart failu re fre...

Ovarian cancer risk among older patients with stable  adnexal masses https://tinyurl.com/mcndkuna Conventional management of ovarian masses for women aged 50 years or more has been surveillance with serial u ltrasounds.  These masses are common , usually benign,  may be cystic  or  solid, and also can be seen with endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory  disease. This retrospective study looked at the incidence of ovarian cancer for 4000 women ,  who had been noted to have an ovarian mass ,  which was stable  in size and appearance on repeat ultrasound examination  after 6 weeks. Over the follow up period for these women ,   which was for about 4 years ,  there was  a very low  inci dence of ovarian cancer with 11 cancers detected , which is about half the number which would be expected for women of this  age. The implication is that active surveillance is unnecessary and  scarce resources  can  be us...

The role of Piezo1  mechano-transduction  in high-grade serous ovarian cancer: Insights from an in vitro model of collective detachment https://tinyurl.com/mpm7sbve Sometimes this blog deals with the frontiers of research into ovarian cancer. This article is on e such. Why ovarian cancer cells are so prone to metastasis  remains  a mystery. There are two co mponents; detachment from the primary tumour and  subsequent  implanting of cancer cells. Normally the detachment of cells is restricted by the stiffness of the extracellular matrix which is  most ly composed of collagen fibres.  A gateway for separation of cells is found with a specific  protein Piezo-1 which changes the electrical and mechanical resistance. This  in - vitro   experiment al study, using normal and cancer human omental cells  shows the importance of the gateway, with those cell cultures having  high Piezo-1 activity being more likely to metastasise. Thi...