MHT may be protective for ovarian cancer patients

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 hormonal 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 all 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 undergone a hysterectomy, meaning that oestrogen therapy only was appropriate.

Results from the study showed improved survival with MHT for women with epithelial and clear cell cancers. Those women who had endometrioid cancer of the ovary had worse survival if exposed to MHT.

The authors suggest that MHT is safe for women with ovarian cancer

and it may improve their quality of life.

Covid-19 and ovarian cancer a lethal combination

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 with 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 significantly higher mortality, with more than 2.5 times the risk of death for women with ovarian cancer who developed COVID-19. Encouragingly, the death rate was greatly reduced (by 65%) for those women who had been completely vaccinated.

The authors suggest early intervention with antiviral treatment is mandatory for these women and stress the importance of booster vaccination for the latest COVID-19 subtypes.

Is minimal invasive surgery for ovarian cancer hazardous?

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 intraoperative 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, it is important that this risk be included in informed consent discussions and further improvement of surgical procedure be sought.