ASCO 2026: Fasting boosts chemotherapy responses for ovarian cancer patients https://tinyurl.com/5xvffb8k A pilot clinical study has suggested that fasting before and after chemotherapy may be protective, with better survival. This group of 36 women with advanced serous ovarian cancer underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy with three cycles of treatment. For half of the group d uring the 36 hours before chemo a nd for 24 hours afterwards, th ey underwent calorie restriction of less than 350 calories daily . The other half had normal diets. Those women who fasted had significantly lower insulin levels than the control group. Insulin plays an important role in cancer treatment; cancer cells exhibit increased insulin receptor expression, thereby triggering  an essential metabolic survival mechanism. Reducing circulating insulin causes cancer cell death. Results from the study showed an improved response to neo adjuvant chemo with better clearance. Also,  data at 18 month...

Rethinking depression diagnosis in ovarian cancer: The role of somatic symptoms https://tinyurl.com/3e2d6jmc A diagnosis of depression is common for patients with ovarian cancer. The risk is said to b e three times that of the general population.  This prospective study  seek s  to assess the role of physical symptoms often seen  in  these women, which ma y have led to false diagnoses. Following treatment, depression diminishes. There is specu lation that the depression is an adaptive response to illness rather than a clinical  entity. Psychosociological assessments were undertaken on 428 women with ovarian cancer. They were performed before treatment and  a year  later  and compared to a healthy com parison group of 713 women .  Many of the symptoms  experienced  by  ovarian cancer patients, such as fatigue, loss of appetite and   brain fog, are criteria that are used to diagnose depression.  These symptoms dimi...

Estrogen hormone therapy use in ovarian cancer patients under age 60 at diagnosis https://tinyurl.com/4uc8sbpa For many women, the effects of surgical menopause following standard treatment of ovarian cancer is an added insult. Menopause with diminished hormona l circulation can cause a significant decrease in the quality of life . The impact of the menopause can be reduced by hormone replacement. Previously, there has been some reluctance to prescribe menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) for women with ovarian cancer due to concerns about promoting cancer spread. This retrospective population study , using data from the BC population database together with information from the pharmacy records , looks at survival for women with ovarian cancer who received MHT compared to those who did not. Of a ll the women in British Columbia aged 60 or younger who developed ovarian cancer during the period 1997-2020, about one-sixth  of them received MHT. Most of these women had underg...

COVID-19 mortality risk among women with ovarian cancer: a matched case-control study https://tinyurl.com/yxr7zb49 Women with ovarian cancer are immunocompromised any additional disease will have a significant impact . This retrospective study from Brazil looks at the risk of death for women with ovarian cancer who are infected wi th the COVID-19 virus. During the period 2020-2024, data was collected for 474 patients with ovarian cancer and compared to 1896 controls without ovarian cancer. Both groups had severe COVID-19 infections with Severe Adult Respiratory Syndrome. The ovarian cancer cases were matched for other comorbidities. Results from the study showed sign ificantly higher mortality, with more than 2.5 times the risk of death for women with ovarian cancer who developed COV I D -19. Encouragingly, the death rate was greatly reduced (b y 65%) for those women who had been completely vaccinated. The authors suggest early intervention with antiviral treatment is mandat...

Minimally Invasive Surgery, Intraoperative Capsule Rupture, and Survival in Early Ovarian Cancer https://tinyurl.com/mp9c87u8 Minimally invasive surgery is increasingly the method of choice for treatment of ovarian cancer either by laparoscopic approach or through use of robotic assistance . Reasons for this include reduced perioperative morbidity and mortality , rapid rehabilitation and reduced scarring or deformity. In this study using data from the Clinical Cancer National Registry about half of more than 11000 women with ovarian cancer had minimally invasive surgery. Of those women, the intraoperati ve complication of rupture of the capsule with consequent intraperitoneal spill of cancer cells was 17 % greater for the minimal group compared to open surgery. Overall survival after 3 years was significantly decreased for women who experienced capsule rupture with 13% increase in death. Although the rate of rupture is low at about 20% for both open and minimal procedures...