The Impact of Liquid Biopsy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer Care https://tinyurl.com/5dy6escn For some time ,  the presence of circulating tumour DNA ( ctDNA ) has been shown as a useful marker for many cancers  including breast and colon. Testing for  ctDNA  is readily available by a  polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ,  the use of which became commonplace during the  Covid pandemic. Previous  studies have shown   ctDNA  to be p resent   in  ovarian  cancer. This study looks at  whether using  ctDNA   liquid biopsy  improves the management of the cancer ,  by confirming adequate surge r y and earlier detection of recurrence. Currently the standard marker of active disease is the cancer antigen CA125. There are problems with this in that there is  a significant  time   lag ,  with pers isting elevation of test scores for CA125 after treatment ,  and delay  in  a  ri...

Ovarian cancer symptoms in pre-clinical invasive epithelial ovarian cancer – An exploratory analysis nested within the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening  https://tinyurl.com/2nj7cv48 Ovarian cancer is hard to diagnose, no screening test has so far been shown to be effective. Because of th is   difficulty   women are  advised to look  out for subtle changes thought to be predictors of later disease. These include bowel  symptoms such as bloating, dyspepsia and altered bowel habit. It seems that this advice is intuitive rather than objective, this study aims to use the mass of data from the UKCT OCS trial to determine the  importance of such advice. UKCTOCS was a huge trial over 15 years involving more than 200000  women  which  ultimately failed  to show any  increase in survival from ovarian cancer when an array of screening tests w as  used. As part of the  information  sought  at commencem...

Conditional loss of Brca1 in oocytes causes reduced litter size, ovarian reserve depletion and impaired oocyte in vitro maturation with advanced reproductive age in mice https://tinyurl.com/5cdrru74 Darwin’s theory of evolution includes the concept that a mutation persists because of biological  advantage. Meaning that there must be some benefit for women who carry the BRCA mutation. This fundamental research ,   using mice  who have BRCA knockout (mutation), looked at the fer t ility and  fecundity for these mice compared to non BRCA affected mice. No change in fertility was observ ed with normal follicle production and fertile lifespan. However, the  size of the litter with fewer infant mice was shown to be significantly  smaller  for mice which are BRCA positive. This finding suggests a possible advantage, fewer offspring may mean better maternal care and more likely survival . 

Com mon drug could extend women's fertility by as much as 5 years https://tinyurl.com/ycyzc6ej There is much research currently looking at anti-ageing drugs. One such is  Rapamycin;  this is an immunosuppressant drug currently used to prevent transplant rejection.  There is experimental evidence that  Rapamycin extends the lifecycle of mice and fruit flies. This has led to a trial using  R apamycin   to extend ovarian function. Results from the study suggest that fertility could be prolonged by up to 5 years.  This raises the important question as to whether the risk for ovarian cancer will be increased for these women. This risk  increases in proportion to the number of menstrual cycles . O varian cancer incidence has been decreasing as a side eff e ct of hormonal contraception , which decreases the number of menstrual cycles. As is often the case ,  the benefits of one course of action m ay  be offset by unexpected consequences. It see...

Breast cancer after ovarian cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variant heterozygotes: Lower rates for 5 years post chemotherapy https://tinyurl.com/5fm8d9um For women who have had successful treatment of ovarian cancer it may seem logical  to undergo risk reduction surgery to prevent  breast cancer as a second primary disease, especially  women who carry the BRCA mutation . This review suggests that such surgery may not be urgent due to associated benefits from current cancer therapy. Retrospective analysis of the incidence of breast cancer after ovarian cancer was collected for women from the UK  who had shown the presence of BRCA mutation and compared to a control group known to be BRCA positive but without ovarian cancer. Results from the survey showed that in the 10 -  year period following diagnosis of o varian cancer there is a lower likelihood of breast cancer, this is  more for  BRCA1 mutation s that BRCA2. It is  speculated  t...