OVARIAN CANCER and US: AZD2281) cochrane

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Showing posts with label AZD2281) cochrane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AZD2281) cochrane. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Review: Cochrane Collaboration - Palliative surgery versus medical management for bowel obstruction in ovarian cancer



Surgery compared to non-surgical treatment to relieve symptoms of bowel obstruction in ovarian cancer

Authors' conclusions
We found only low quality evidence comparing palliative surgery and medical management for bowel obstruction in ovarian cancer. Therefore we are unable to reach definite conclusions about the relative benefits and harms of the two forms of treatment, or to identify sub-groups of women who are likely to benefit from one treatment or the other. However, there is weak evidence in support of surgical management to prolong survival.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Self-monitoring and self-management of oral anticoagulation (Clinical) - Cochrane Journal Club



P L A I N  L A N G U A G E  S U M M A R Y

In conclusion, self-monitoring or self-management can improve the quality of oral anticoagulant therapy, leading to fewer thromboembolic
events and lower mortality, without a reduction in the number of major bleeds. Self-monitoring and self-management are not
feasible for all patients, which requires the identification and education of suitable patients.

Friday, June 18, 2010

abstract/Cochrane Collaboration review: DNA-repair pathway inhibitors for the treatment of ovarian cancer (PARPs...AZD2281)



Plain language summary

Are DNA repair inhibitors as effective and harmless compared to conventional chemotherapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer?
Ovarian cancer is the sixth commonest cancer in women world-wide and remains a leading cause of death, with an annual incidence of 6.6 cases per 100,000 women and an annual mortality rate of 4.0 deaths per 100,000 women. Most ovarian cancers (90%) are epithelial ovarian cancer and arise from the surface of the ovary. Epithelial ovarian cancer typically occurs in post-menopausal women, with a peak incidence around the age of 60, although it does occur in younger women, often associated with genetic predispositions. The onset of this disease is insidious and 75% of women present with advanced stage disease (stage III or IV) when the 5 year survival is around 30%. Treatment consists of debulking surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy, with or without taxanes. Although initial response to chemotherapy is good, most women will relapse, requiring further chemotherapy treatment and develop cancer that is resistant to chemotherapy.

Conventinal chemotherapy acts on all rapidly dividing cells by damaging DNA. Cancer cells divide very rapidly, which is why chemotherapy works better on cancer cells than normal cells. However, there is no inherent selectivity for normal calls and so rapidly dividing cells, such as gut lining, hair follicles and bone marrow, are also affected, leading to diarrhoea, mouth ulcers, hair loss, anaemia and susceptibility to infections.

All cells are equipped with a number of systems or pathways that repair DNA damage. If cells are unable to repair their DNA, the cell undergoes programmed cell death (apoptosis) in order to prevent an abnormal cell from dividing. Because being able to repair DNA is vital to cell survival, normal cells have more than one DNA-repair pathway, so that if one is lost cells can still repair themselves. Cancer cells often develop defects in these pathways, due to mutations, which may promote development of cancer (e.g. BRCA mutations). However, these same mutations mean that these cancer cells are more susceptible to DNA damage, such as that caused by chemotherapy, than normal cells. Novel therapeutical agents have been developed to inhibit DNA-repair pathways, which makes cells that already have faults in another DNA repair pathway due to a mutation, exquisitely sensitive to DNA damaging chemotherapy agents. The most common target for this type of novel anti-cancer agent are the DNA-repair enzymes called poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). PARPs are a family of related enzymes, which are involved in regulating various cellular processes, including DNA repair, cell death, and inflammation. PARP inhibitors therefore have a potentially wide range of applications.

Our objective was to compare effectiveness and side effects of PARP inhibitors compared to conventional chemotherapy in women with ovarian cancer. The identification of a safe dose of AZD2281 (a PARP inhibitor) has been found by small non randomised trials, with encouraging results. For ovarian cancer, there are currently two ongoing RCTs, but outcome data are not yet available. Results of these trials are awaited to determine if DNA repair inhibitors have a role in addition to conventional chemotherapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer.