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Sunday, October 26, 2008
click here to view: Recap of 4 related items - Ovarian Cancer Screening/Diagnostic Markers
Gardasil Passes a 2-Year Safety Check
Gardasil Passes a 2-Year Safety Check:
"Most parents' concerns about Gardasil were not explicitly related to concerns about vaccine safety."
The Lancet Oncology - World Cancer Declaration (needs password - free - to view)
The Lancet Oncology
Reflection and Reaction
World Cancer Declaration: a need for partnership
"We can no longer afford to sit on our hands and watch people die needlessly. We all have a personal and common responsibility to help overcome this global challenge and I encourage you to read the World Cancer Declaration, endorse the policy via the UICC website, and think carefully about what changes you can do, however small, in your private and professional lives to bring about change, before we live to regret this moment in history."2008 Health Care in Canada - full report (103 pages)
HCIC_2008_e.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Health Care in Canada 2008 (HCIC 2008) is the ninth in a series of annual
reports on the health care system and the health of Canadians. This year,
HCIC 2008 provides a review of key analytic work undertaken at CIHI that
highlights CIHI’s health care research priorities (access, quality of care, costs,
health human resources and population mental health). Also included in this
report are key findings from seminal Canadian and international health care
research as they relate to these health care priorities. HCIC 2008 is a reference
tool to identify current priorities in health care for health researchers, persons
involved in strategic decision-making in health care, the media and Canadians
in general.
God Syndrome | Psychology Today Blogs
God Syndrome | Psychology Today Blogs: "Medicine is a complex affair; we frequently do not do justice to what our patients suffer and what they need."
Thursday, October 23, 2008
news item: Gates Foundation Awards $100,000 grants (non-peer review)
Flying Syringes and Other Bold Ideas - washingtonpost.com
"In making its picks, the foundation has rejected the widespread practice of peer review -- assigning other specialists in a field to evaluate research -- because, in the words of Tadataka Yamada, the foundation's director of global health, "peer review -- by definition almost -- excludes innovation because innovation has no peers."
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
TheStar.com | Federal Election | Health policy debate fizzles despite Canadians' priorities
"Canadians are justly proud of their health system but this election campaign does not mirror their concerns,"
TheStar.com | Federal Election | Health policy debate fizzles despite Canadians' priorities
"So, are you back to work yet?" Re-conceptualizing 'work' and 'return to work' - abstract
"So, are you back to work yet?" Re-conceptualizing...[Soc Sci Med. 2008] - PubMed Result"..When patients return for surgical follow up, clinicians routinely ask, "So, are you back to work yet?" expecting simple 'yes/no' answers.
This study suggests that the answer is instead highly complex, and that patients could be seen as having been 'working' all along. This study offers a re-conceptualization of 'work' and 'return to work'....."
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Search: Ovarian | Canary Journal
website links sorted by content type eg. imaging, natural history, risk etc
Search: Ovarian | Canary Journal
Clinical Care Options Oncology - numerous presentations
Clinical Care Options Oncology - Optimizing Treatment Choices in Ovarian Cancer
Early Detection and Treatment of Ovarian Cancer
The Importance of Early Detection and Treatment of Ovarian Cancer
Current Controversies in the Management of Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
New Agents for the Management of Ovarian Cancer
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Coordinated prophylactic surgical management for women with hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome
BioMed Central | Full text | Coordinated prophylactic surgical management for women with hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome:
"Although we did not have any substantial complications associated with the gynecologic surgery in our series, there is a potential risk in adding the gynecologic procedure to prophylactic surgery, especially in the setting of autologous reconstructive surgery."
2008 Penetrance estimates for BRCA1 and BRCA2 based on genetic testing in a Clinical Cancer Genetics service setting
Research article Open Access
Penetrance estimates for BRCA1 and BRCA2 based on genetic
testing in a Clinical Cancer Genetics service setting: Risks of
breast/ovarian cancer quoted should reflect the cancer burden in
the family
1471-2407-8-155.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
News - Lymphadenectomy Improves 5-Year Survival Rates in Ovarian Cancer Patients: Presented at ESSO
Note the year of 1986:
News - Lymphadenectomy Improves 5-Year Survival Rates in Ovarian Cancer Patients: Presented at ESSO: "The International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging for ovarian cancer changed in 1986 to include both peritoneal and lymphatic assessment, Dr. Bergzoll noted."
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Cochrane Systematic Review of Colorectal Cancer Screening
Cochrane Systematic Review of Colorectal Cancer Screening
"Conclusions:
........Controversy still surrounds the most effective screening modality for the detection of CRC in the population.[9–11] Clarification of whether FOBT (either guaiac or immunochemical), flexible sigmoidoscopy (alone or in combination with FOBT), or colonoscopy will provide the greatest benefits over the potential risks is required."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Feasibility of Screening for Lynch Syndrome Among Patients With Colorectal Cancer
Feasibility of Screening for Lynch Syndrome Among Patients With Colorectal Cancer -- Hampel et al., 10.1200/JCO.2008.17.5950 -- Journal of Clinical Oncology
Conclusion:
One of every 35 patients with CRC has LS, and each has at least three relatives with LS; all of whom can benefit from increased cancer surveillance. For screening, IHC is almost equally sensitive as MSI, but IHC is more readily available and helps to direct gene testing. Limiting tumor analysis to patients who fulfill Bethesda criteria would fail to identify 28% (or one in four) cases of LS.
Monday, September 22, 2008
full text (news source) What is the role of neoadjuvant chemo - areas of confusion in oncology
PowerSearch Document
"RECOMMENDATIONS
* Patients unable to tolerate aggressive cytoreductive surgery should undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy first.
* Neoadjuvant chemotherapy should become a standard alternative approach to treating patients with stage IV ovarian cancer.
* Women with stage IIIC disease should be evaluated by a gynecologic oncologist to determine the likelihood of optimal cytoreducibility. If residual macroscopic disease would be expected with surgery alone, the patient should be offered the option of neoadjuvant chemotherapy."
Reference Guide
Therapeutic Agents Mentioned in This Article
Carboplatin
Cisplatin
Cyclophosphamide
Paclitaxel
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
2008 Canada Health Consumer Index
47. 2008Sept CHCI Final.pdf (application/pdf Object)
No province in Canada has legislation defending the rights of patients.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Modification of risk for subsequent cancer after female breast cancer by a family history of breast cancer
Modification of risk for subsequent cancer after f...[Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2008] - PubMed Result
- Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2008 Sep;111(1):165-9. Epub 2007 Sep 27.
-
Modification of risk for subsequent cancer after female breast cancer by a family history of breast cancer.
Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany. k.hemminki@dkfz.de
An increased risk of second primary cancers may depend on many reasons, including therapy for the first cancer and heritable causation. Population level data are not available exploring the risks of subsequent cancers after breast cancer considering a familial history of breast cancers. We used the nation-wide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to investigate such risks, based on 43,398 first invasive female breast cancers. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for the second cancer after breast cancer using rates for first cancer as a reference. Many cancers at discordant sites were increased after breast cancer. SIRs for subsequent neoplasms in women who had a family history of breast cancer were increased for ovarian (2.0) and endometrial (1.8) cancers and for acute lymphoid leukemia (12.7) and myelofibrosis (9.4). The data suggest that the familial aggregation of breast and endometrial cancers may be explained by yet unidentified heritable causes. The remarkably high risks for second acute lymphoid leukemia and myelofibrosis, both characterized by chromosomal aberrations, in women with a family history of breast cancer may signal heritable defects in the ability to process DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation and chemotherapy.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Lymphadenectomy Improves 5-Year Survival Rates in Ovarian Cancer Patients: Presented at ESSO
"Since there might be some overlap between performing radical surgery and performing lymphadenectomy, maximal cytoreduction should remain the main objective in ovarian cancer surgery," Dr. Bergzoll concluded.
[Presentation title: The Therapeutic Role of Lymph Node Resection in Ovarian Cancer: Analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database. Abstract 152]
2008 OCNA award winners: Carolyn Benivegna and Karen Mason
OCNA 2008 Award Winners! CONGRATULATIONS!
Cindy Melancon Spirit of Survivorship AwardHailing from Novi, Michigan, Carolyn Benivegna will be this year’s recipient in honor of her persistent advocacy for promoting awareness for ovarian cancer. Carolyn is an ovarian cancer survivor and the founder of the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Florida-Gulf Coast. She then moved to Michigan when she made a great impact by working with Governor Jennifer Granholm to declare September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Carolyn and her husband were also recognized by The Henry P. Tappan Society from the University of Michigan for establishing an endowed Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at UM.
The Voice for Ovarian Cancer Research Award
Taking the trip from Woodbury, NJ will be Karen Mason. After being diagnosed at the age of 49, she quickly discovered that getting involved in the ovarian cancer community was a great coping mechanism. Last Fall Karen was invited to be a member of the Dept of Defense’s Integration Panel where proposals are chosen for funding by the Department of Defense’s Ovarian Cancer Research Program. She also serves as a patient advocate for the Fox Chase Cancer Center ovarian SPORE as a full participating member of their Institutional Review Board evaluating consent forms for clinical trials. Karen is continually involved with NED (no evidence of disease) and is a part-time ICU nurse, wife and mother of two sons.
JCO.2008 Progress in Cancer Care: The Hope, the Hype, and the Gap Between Reality and Perception
Progress in Cancer Care: The Hope,JCO.2008.17.6198v1.pdf (application/pdf Object)
the Hype, and the Gap Between Reality
and Perception
abstract:
JCO Early Release, published online ahead of print Sep 15 2008
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 10.1200/JCO.2008.17.6198
| |
Progress in Cancer Care: The Hope, the Hype, and the Gap Between Reality and Perception
Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
Monday, September 15, 2008
Monday September 15th, 2008: CANO conference presentation - Survivors' Debate: The Past Decade in Ovarian Cancer
Survivors Debate: The Past Decade in Ovarian Cancer
Pamela J. West1, Sandi Pniauskas2, Carolyn Benivegna3. 1Rouge Valley Health System, Toronto,
ON, Canada, 2No Institution - patient, Whitby, ON, Canada, 3No Institution - patient,
Novi, MI, USA.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Survivors Debate: "the Past Decade in Ovarian Cancer"
Carolyn Benivegna and Sandi Pniauskas
contact: Sandi Pniauskas 905 668-0767
email: sandipn@sympatico.ca
further information/registration: http://ovariancancerdebate.blogspot.com
online poll: http://cancerissues.blogspot.com/
Survivors' Debate: “The Past Decade in Ovarian Cancer”
WHAT: Ovarian cancer survivors, Carolyn Benivegna (U.S.) and Sandi Pniauskas (Canada), announce the first ever Ovarian Cancer Survivors Debate. The two conferences are survivor-led and survivor-organized with debate and discussion surrounding the multitude of issues - the past and the present. Open and lively dialogue will be encouraged.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: All cancer survivors/caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, pharmacists and the general public are encouraged to attend and participate.
WHERE/
WHEN:
#1: Sheraton Hotel, Novi, MI Sat. October 27th, 2007
#2: Metropolitan Hotel, Toronto, ON Sat. November 3rd, 2007
Time: 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
BACKGROUND:
Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers. Ovarian cancer has no early detection test. The debate and ensuing open forum public discussions will include the specifics of disease-related issues including genetics, access to care and communications. Carolyn Benivegna is a nine year ovarian cancer survivor, a BRCA1 carrier and Founder/Board Member of OCAG-GC. Sandi Pniauskas is an eight ovarian cancer survivor with a genetic predisposition to Lynch Syndrome/Hereditary NonPolyposis Colorectal Cancer and a member of the Cochrane Collaboration. Carolyn and Sandi are energetic, knowledgeable ovarian cancer advocates and activists since the beginning of their journeys.
Ovarian cancer survivors Annamarie DeCarlo and Dr. Yi Pan will co-moderate both events. Bridget Capo (R.N.) and Pamela J. West (R.N.) will provide support and collaborate with Benivegna and Pniauskas in formal publication of the event proceedings.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Lynch Syndrome - Cancer Prevention with Lynch Syndrome
Sandi's comments: One of the issues that I have is the reference in the article: "If you're a woman with Lynch syndrome, you may want to mention this study to your doctor and get her take on how it might apply to you."
As a generalization, the vast majority of hcps have never heard of the Lynch Syndrome (HNPCC).
Lynch Syndrome - Cancer Prevention with Lynch Syndrome: "If you're a woman with Lynch syndrome, you may want to mention this study to your doctor and get her take on how it might apply to you."
Saturday, July 14, 2007
The quality of the operative report for women with ovarian cancer in Ontario.
The quality of the operative report for women with...[J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2006] - PubMed Result: "
All: 1
Review: 0
[Click to change filter selection through My NCBI.]
1: J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2006 Oct;28(10):892-7."
Review:
J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2006 Oct;28(10):892-7.
The quality of the operative report for women with ovarian cancer in Ontario.
Elit L, Bondy S, Chen Z, Law C, Paszat L.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of the operative reports from cases of ovarian cancer surgery in Ontario.
METHODS: We undertook a population cohort study including all newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients treated initially with surgery from January 1996 to December 1998 in Ontario (n = 1341). We abstracted charts from hospitals and cancer centres. All surgical and pathology notes were abstracted into an ACCESS database.
RESULTS: A total of 1,341 women had surgery as the first step in management of ovarian cancer. A vertical abdominal incision was used in 87.6% of these cases. Peritoneal cytology was obtained in 87.8% of cases overall, but in only 69.5% of stage 1 cases. A description of the ovaries was provided in 85% of reports, of the uterus in 70%, the diaphragm in 53%, the liver in 69%, the pelvic lymph nodes in 10%, and the para-aortic lymph nodes in 41%. In stage 1 cases, the ovaries were assessed histologically in 89% of cases, the uterus in 80%, the omentum in 69%, the peritoneum in 20%, the appendix in 9%, the pelvic lymph nodes in 10%, and the para-aortic lymph nodes in 7%. Frozen section was obtained in half of the stage 1 cases, and the false negative rate for identifying malignancy was 6%. In all, 23% of women received adequate surgical staging for stage 1 disease, and 12% of women with advanced disease had optimal debulking (to less than 1 cm residual disease). There are clear differences between centres with a gynaecologic oncologist on staff and other centres in the adequacy of surgical staging in women with stage 1 disease (chi2 = 60.6, P < 0.0001) and in optimal debulking for advanced disease (chi2 = 39.1, P < 0.0001). In 40% of cases with advanced disease, the amount of residual disease following surgery is not reported.
CONCLUSION: The current approach of dictating operative notes does not provide sufficient detail in a large number of cases; this affects treatment decisions and limits our ability to assess quality indicators for operative care in ovarian cancer. This problem is pervasive but is more significant in centres without a gynaecologic oncologist.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Researchers Identify Genetic Mutation That May Alter Patients' Response To Cancer Therapeutics
Researchers Identify Genetic Mutation That May Alter Patients' Response To Cancer Therapeutics: "Researchers from Eli Lilly & Company and the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) today announced finding a novel recurring mutation of the gene AKT1 in breast, colorectal and ovarian cancers. "
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Halifax, The Daily News: News | Ovarian cancer deadliest: experts
""If anything, it will get them off their duff and get them into the doctor's office to say 'Something's not right here.'"
Halifax, The Daily News: News | Ovarian cancer deadliest: experts
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Complications at the End of Life in Ovarian Cancer. [J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007] - PubMed Result
Complications at the End of Life in Ovarian Cancer. [J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007] - PubMed Result
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007 Jun 30; [Epub ahead of print]
Complications at the End of Life in Ovarian Cancer.
Herrinton LJ, Neslund-Dudas C, Rolnick SJ, Hornbrook MC, Bachman DJ, Darbinian JA, Jackson JM, Coughlin SS.
Division of Research (L.J.H., J.A.D.), Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, California; Henry Ford Health Systems (C.N.-D.), Detroit, Michigan; HealthPartners Research Foundation (S.J.R., J.M.J.), Minneapolis, Minnesota; Center for Health Research, Northwest/Hawaii (M.C.H., D.J.B.), Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, Oregon; and Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (S.S.C.), United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Women dying of ovarian cancer vary considerably in their complications and in the types of health care they receive. The objective of this study was to describe the complications of ovarian cancer, other than pain, and their treatment at the end of life. This study used a cohort of 421 enrollees in three nonprofit managed-care organizations who died with ovarian cancer during 1995-2000. Data were collected from abstraction of paper and electronic medical records. Proportions of women experiencing complications and undergoing treatments were calculated. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of patient characteristics with the probability of receiving an intervention for complications. The most common complications recorded in the medical record were fatigue or weakness (75%), nausea or vomiting (71%), constipation (49%), edema of the extremities (44%), and anemia (34%). The prevalence of major complications was as follows: ascites, 28%; bowel obstruction, 12%; pleural effusion, 10%; bladder obstruction, 3%; and disordered nutrition that required support with parenteral nutrition, 9%. Patients may not always have received interventions for major complications; for example, pleural effusion apparently was left untreated in almost half of the women with this problem. After adjustment, women who died at younger ages were more likely to receive an intervention, compared to older women (odds ratio for each decade of age, 0.71, 95% confidence interval=0.53-0.94, P for trend=0.02). The study, which preceded the establishment of palliative care programs, suggests that care given to ovarian cancer patients at the end of life may be inadequate.
PMID: 17606360 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Endometriosis Raises Risk Of Ovarian, Kidney And Thyroid Cancer
Endometriosis Raises Risk Of Ovarian, Kidney And Thyroid Cancer
The scientists found the endometriosis raised the risk of developing the following types of tumors:
-- Ovarian tumors - 37% greater risk
-- Endocrine tumors - 38% greater risk
-- Kidney tumors - 36% greater risk
-- Thyroid tumors - 33% greater risk
-- Brain tumors - 27% greater risk
-- Malignant melanoma - 23% greater risk
-- Breast cancer - 9% greater risk
Surprisingly, women with endometriosis seem to have a 29% lower risk of developing cervical cancer.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
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