Feasibility of Robotic Surgical Approach in Peritoneal Carcinomatosis https://tinyurl.com/4h24fnfr Complete clearance of ovarian cancer at the time of the first surgery remains the most important factor in a cure. Sometimes with advance d  cancer the dist ant spread to the lining of the abdomen ,  (peritoneal carcinomatosis) , makes clearance  difficult  if not impossible. New surgical techniques using robotic assistance are becoming commonplace for some surgical procedures, notably prostate cancer. Robotic surgery is  safer with less morbidity and mortality, there is better visualisation of small structures and  is  more likely to achieve complete clearance. This retrospective study of 16 patients, 9 of whom had ovarian surgery , showed that robotic surgery is feasible and safe. Because of the cost and  due to limited resources, randomised prospective clinical trials ,   looking for better outcomes will be required before this technique beco...

The impact of preoperative immuno-nutritional status on prognosis in ovarian cancer: a multi- centre  real-world study https://tinyurl.com/yeyspm3c Two relatively simple indices of health may be obtained prior to surgery for ovarian cancer. These are the  Prognostic nutritional Index  (PNI)  which is measured using the serum albumen and the  Systemic Immune-inflammation  I ndex  (SII)  calculated as a ratio of platelets to white cells in circulating  blood. This prospective survey looked at survival after surgery for women with ovarian cancer and the  correlation to pre-operative health. Results obtained from the study showed that those  women  with  good nutritional health (high PNI) had better progress free survival  and overall survival. Women whose immune status was good before surgery (high SII) had good progress free survival  but slightly worse overall survival . For those women whose nutritional and immun...

The US FDA grants RMAT Designation to  Gradalis ’ Vigil for Advanced Ovarian Cancer https://tinyurl.com/46bdjj7v For women with ovarian cancer who  don’t  respond to   m aintena n ce therapy using PARP inhibitors there  is new hope. The FDA has enabled fast access through  the Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, (RMAT) designation to  a targeted  treatment called Vigil , which is intended for use in  patients who do not have defective DNA repair . RMAT designation is used to speed the approval process of drugs which have shown  encouraging impact on otherwise untreatable illness. Vigil is a new form of immunotherapy whereby cells from the  patient’s own cancer are  infected with a bacterial DNA fragment (a plasmid), and then injected back in to the donor, to promote an immune reaction  similar to a vaccine. Although this drug is only  in a   phase  II clinical trial, early responses have shown promising ...

Role of pre-diagnostic reproductive factors on long-term (10 years or greater) survival of epithelial ovarian cancer: The Extreme study https://tinyurl.com/3hft7xmy It is well known that the risk of ovarian cancer is reduced  by  reproductive factors such  as ,  previous pregnancy, breast feeding ,  and oral contraception . This retrospective study ,  using information from the  Danish  health system ,  looks at survival  after  ovarian  cancer  for almost 12,000 women and sought to relate the chance of survival to  previous  gynaecological history. Results from the study suggest that  a  previous  history of  childbirth,  endometriosis ,  and infertility  are protective with  between  8% and 17% better  survival  respectively. A history of  previous  hysterectomy or salpingectomy showed no survival benefit. The authors make no suggestion a s to why...