Saturday, February 28, 2009
Health Canada: Cancer
related Globe and Mail article with reader commentaries:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090226.wcancer26/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Current role and future aspects of Topotecan in relapsed ovarian cancer
"A number of alternative dosing regimens and formulations have been investigated in an attempt to improve the toxicity profile of topotecan without compromising anti-tumour activity. A novel oral formulation of topotecan has shown clinical promise in patients with advanced and relapsed disease. Administration of i.v. topotecan on a weekly basis produced encouraging results in several phase II trials, with less haematological toxicity and similar response rates to the day 1-5 regimen."
Old Bones, New Data: Emmett Hall, Private Insurance and the Defeat of Pharmacare :: Vol. 4 No. 3 2009 :: Healthcare Policy / Politiques de Santé :: Longwoods Publishing
"The class war? We lost. Catastrophically."
pharma press release: Phenoxodiol/OVATURE
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={40DC8D57-A36F-4DA7-A132-83469C5C89F8}&siteid=nbkh
Phase III Phenoxodiol Clinical Trial for Ovarian Cancer Continues
"The OVArian TUmor REsponse (OVATURE) trial is a major multi-center multinational Phase III clinical trial of orally administered phenoxodiol in combination with carboplatin in women with advanced ovarian cancer resistant or refractory to platinum-based drugs, to determine its safety and effectiveness when used in combination with carboplatin. More information on the trial can be found at http://www.OVATUREtrial.com.
The OVATURE trial is recruiting ovarian cancer patients whose cancer initially responded to chemotherapy, but has since become resistant or refractory to traditional platinum treatments. The trial consists of two double blind treatment arms. Patients in one trial arm are receiving weekly carboplatin and phenoxodiol. Patients in the other trial arm are also receiving weekly carboplatin, but a placebo (an inactive control pill) is substituted for phenoxodiol. Neither patients nor their doctors know to which trial arm the patients are randomly assigned.
A change from receiving platinum in the traditional dose pattern (every two to three weeks) to a weekly dosing regimen has been reported to provide a tumor response in some patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.(2-4) Thus, in addition to learning more about the safety and efficacy of phenoxodiol, researchers will learn more about the efficacy and safety of weekly carboplatin.
The primary outcome of the trial is the assessment of the relative time it takes for the ovarian cancer to progress. An analysis of interim results will be possible after patient recruitment to this study is completed and 95 patients have disease progression.
Patients are being recruited at hospital sites across the USA, UK, Europe and Australia. The trial design has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) program, and provides for an interim analysis of the data, which, if statistically significant, can be used to support a request for accelerated marketing approval."
U.S. Patient Safety community - Tell It Like It Is!
Note: While this article is specific to the U.S., the basis/assumptions would be of significance to the many.
e-ESO Online educational resource - online - Advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: Are there improvements in first and second line treatment?
e-Grandrounds CME:
GR36 - 19 February 2009
Expert: Jan B. Vermorken, University Hospital of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium
Discussant: Sergio Pecorelli, University of Brescia, Ospedali Civili, Brescia, Italy"
Monday, February 23, 2009
Surgery for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: Role of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: exploratory analysis DESKTOP 1 trial about risk factors, surgical .....
Surgery for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: Role of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: Exploratory Analysis of the DESKTOP I Trial About Risk Factors, Surgical Implications, and Prognostic Value of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis
ecancer.tv: Ovary and Gynaecology (5 video presentations)
Ovary and Gynaecology:
1) prophylactic surgery for BRCA Dr Wood U.S.;
2) executive summary (discussion of future ECCO congress) video;
3) Prof Douglas Easton 10 new genes increase risk of breast cancer UK; 4) Dr Monk (sea squirt also known as Trabectedin/Ecteinascidin/ET-743/Yondelis ) U.S.;
5) Prof Michael Friedlander (can't quite understand the therapy he speaks of) Australia (oral inhibitor antiogenesis).
For other videos select main page of website.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Health Consumer Council
Health Consumer Council
"International Health Rights Consumers International
The Rights of Patients
Prescription for healthy consumers
All patients have the right to:
1. appropriate and accessible health care
2. freedom from discrimination
3. information and education
4. choose a doctor or other health worker
5. choose a health care establishment
6. informed consent about treatment
7. participate in their own health care
8. respect, privacy, confidentiality and dignity
9. complain
10. redress in the event of injury."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Cancer Patients Versus Cancer Survivors: Social and Emotional Consequences of Word Choice -- abstract
Cancer Patients Versus Cancer Survivors: Social and Emotional Consequences of Word Choice -- Mosher and Danoff-Burg 28 (1): 72 -- Journal of Language and Social Psychology
Cancer Patients Versus Cancer Survivors
Social and Emotional Consequences of Word Choice
State University of New York, Albany, mosherc@mskcc.org
State University of New York, Albany
Two studies examined the social and emotional implications of different linguistic classifications of individuals with cancer. Undergraduates were randomly assigned to rate their reactions to either cancer patients or cancer survivors. Across studies, participants held more favorable perceptions of the character of cancer survivors relative to cancer patients and displayed more positive attitudes toward the former group. In addition, participants in Study 1 reported greater willingness to interact with cancer survivors compared with cancer patients. Positive perceptions of prognosis did not appear to account for favorable attitudes toward cancer survivors; most participants in Study 2 did not assume that cancer survivors were beyond the treatment phase of their illness or cured of their disease. Findings point to a potentially powerful effect of word choice on reactions to individuals with cancer.
Key Words: cancer • perceptions • attitudes
Monday, February 09, 2009
UK - Target Ovarian Cancer Pathfinder study
http://tinyurl.com/cglvlf
02.02.09
Target Ovarian Cancer Pathfinder Study Advisory Panel announced Women with ovarian cancer and senior healthcare professionals and researchers are joining together to shape this important study.
Target Ovarian Cancer today announced the members of the independent advisory panel who are overseeing the groundbreaking Target Ovarian Cancer Pathfinder Study. They include patient and relative representation in addition to a wide range of senior healthcare professionals and researchers involved in diagnosing, treating and caring for women with ovarian cancer......cont'd
............................................................................................
Media resources (click on link to Media): Note the last sentence for the call for ovarian cancer participants:
Welcome to the Target Ovarian Cancer media hub. You'll find a host of media friendly materials here such as the stories of women living with ovarian cancer plus our latest news releases.
In the coming months we will be adding more and more unique data to this section making it a genuine 'hub' of ovarian cancer news and real life stories.
Right now, we are asking media to assist in our search for women with ovarian cancer, specialist gynae cancer nurses, clinicians and researchers to take part in the Target Ovarian Cancer Pathfinder Study. It is the first national study of its kind devoted to mapping the gaps in current patient care, clinical research, funding and identifying the routes forward for ovarian cancer management. All working towards our aim of a long and good life for every woman with ovarian cancer.
Nationally, March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, so if you are planning a feature, please do include a 'call to action' for people to enroll in the Target Ovarian Cancer Pathfinder Study via www.targetovarian.org.uk . Our recruitment will continue on an ongoing basis.
Progestins in HRT: Sufferance or desire?
ScienceDirect - Maturitas : Progestins in HRT: Sufferance or desire?
".... recent epidemiological data may have been not only wrongly translated in relation to the clinical settings, but also to the whole class of therapies. The various progestins available for hormonal therapy exert different partial effects at cellular level according to the biochemical composition."
Markman: Intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the management of ovarian cancer: focus on carboplatin
article: http://www.dovepress.com/intraperitoneal-chemotherapy-in-the-management-of-ovarian-cancer-focus-peer-reviewed-article
open text pdf file: http://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=4267
Worth noting:
Finally, as it is known that patients with “high risk”
early stage ovarian cancer have a 30% to 50% chance of
experiencing recurrence of the disease process, and those
recurrences are largely within the peritoneal cavity, it is
perhaps reasonable to consider delivering some, or perhaps
all, of a planned adjuvant chemotherapy approach via the
intraperitoneal route.
"N.E.D." :: UNC doctor-rockers score record deal
WRAL.com :: UNC doctor-rockers score record deal
N.E.D's music is rock, but with a niche all its own: It's Gynecologic Oncology rock – with a mission.