OVARIAN CANCER and US

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Correlation of adverse effects of cisplatin administration in patients affected by solid tumours: A retrospective evaluation

Abstract:

"Cisplatin is the most common antineoplastic drug used for the therapy

 of solid tumours. To date, researchers have focused on the dosage to

 be administered for each specific tumour, mainly considering the local

 adverse effects. The aim of this study was to correlate the severity of

 the adverse effects with: i) the dosage of cisplatin; ii) the specific

 site of the tumour; iii) the association with other drugs; and iv) the

 symptoms. We analysed data from 123 patients with 11 different

 tumour classes undergoing therapy from 2007 to 2008

 at St. Anna Hospital (Ferrara, Italy), using the Spearman

 non-parametric correlation index. Even though significant correlations

 were found among the variables, the overall results showed that the

 main factor influencing the severity of the adverse effects was the

 dosage of cisplatin administered......

Cisplatin is the most common antineoplastic drug used for the therapy of solid tumours. To date, researchers have focused on the dosage to be administered for each specific tumour, mainly considering the local adverse effects. The aim of this study was to correlate the severity of the adverse effects with: i) the dosage of cisplatin; ii) the specific site of the tumour; iii) the association with other drugs; and iv) the symptoms. We analysed data from 123 patients with 11 different tumour classes undergoing therapy from 2007 to 2008 at St. Anna Hospital (Ferrara, Italy), using the Spearman non-parametric correlation index. Even though significant correlations were found among the variables, the overall results showed that the main factor influencing the severity of the adverse effects was the dosage of cisplatin administered. - See more at: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/29/4/1285#sthash.QxOJrWcd.dpu

Correlation of adverse effects of cisplatin administration in patients affected by solid tumours: A retrospective evaluation
Authors: Laura Astolfi, Sara Ghiselli, Valeria Guaran, Milvia Chicca, Edi Simoni, Elena Olivetto, Giorgio Lelli, Alessandro Martini
Affiliations: Bioacoustics Research Laboratory, University of Padua, I-35129 Padua, Italy, ENT Surgery, Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, I-35129 Padua, Italy, Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, I-44121 Ferrara, Italy, Clinical Oncology Unit, St. Anna University-Hospital, I-44121 Ferrara, Italy
Published online on: Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Doi: 10.3892/or.2013.2279
Pages: 1285-1292
Abstract:

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

- See more at: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/29/4/1285#sthash.QxOJrWcd.dpuf

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

- See more at: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/29/4/1285#sthash.QxOJrWcd.dpuf

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

- See more at: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/29/4/1285#sthash.QxOJrWcd.dpuf

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

- See more at: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/29/4/1285#sthash.QxOJrWcd.dpuf

NexJ Systems Inc. | Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre expanding MyChart online services to Family Practice Patients

Blogger's Note: for those who are Sunnybrook (Cancer)/Odette Centre the mychart.ca is an excellent site for patients (eg. imaging/test results....)

NexJ Systems Inc. | Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre expanding MyChart online services to Family Practice Patients

New journal aims to address fatigue in medical illnesses and specific environmental conditions

Association of bilateral oophorectomy and body fatness in a representative sample of US women

Abstract

Highlights

► Bilateral oophorectomy in young women is strongly associated with an increase in body fatness, a risk factor for chronic diseases.
► The strongest association between oophorectomy and body fat was observed among women who never used hormone therapy.
► Measuring body fat in addition to body mass index can provide a more comprehensive assessment of adiposity in these women.

Objective

Preclinical studies suggest that abrupt hormone deprivation caused by oophorectomy, leads to obesity and its metabolic sequelae. The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between oophorectomy and body fatness in a nationally representative sample of women.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

[Editorial] paywalled: Quality and value in cancer care - Lancel Oncology

[Editorial] Quality and value in cancer care:

"In these times of stringent financial cuts, it is more important than ever to ensure excellent value for money in health-care delivery. Those that hold the purse strings might well think that value for money equates to the lowest cost. But true economy in health services incorporates quality and efficacy of treatment. For example, an effective therapy with a lower adverse event rate is likely to be more economical than is a lower-cost drug that requires more supportive care. Identifying a biological approach for a cancer treatment inevitably stimulates a race between pharmaceutical companies to bring a drug to market, often resulting in several agents that act against the same target, but with no evidence of their relative effectiveness."

JNCI: Risks of Colorectal and Other Cancers After Endometrial Cancer for Women With Lynch Syndrome

Blogger's Note: this is the JNCI abstract per the prior University of Colorado blog, pay-per-view, as per my comment it is "renal pelvis"; this was a multinational study

Abstract

Study revises colorectal cancer risk down and other cancer risks up for women with Lynch Syndrome - (University of) Colorado Cancer Blogs

Blogger's Note: note sent to blogger re: risk of ovarian cancer? it may be that the study was too small, should be renal pelvis? .......

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Study revises colorectal cancer risk down and other cancer risks up for women with Lynch Syndrome - Colorado Cancer Blogs

" The research group, which includes member from six centers, used data from 127 women included in the Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR)."

.....“This new information helps patient care in two important ways. First, it helps us counsel women with Lynch Syndrome who have had endometrial cancer about the magnitude of their future cancer risk, which turns out to be about 55 percent over the 20 years after diagnosis of their endometrial cancer. Second, it helps fill in the picture of the spectrum of cancers that are associated with Lynch Syndrome, which includes not only colorectal and endometrial cancers, but kidney, ureter, renal, pelvic, urinary, bladder and breast cancers in that order as well,” says Dennis J. Ahnen, MD, CU Cancer Center investigator and professor of gastroenterology at the Denver VA Medical Center, one of the paper’s co-authors.

Diabetes Mellitus and Ovarian Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review

Diabetes Mellitus and Ovarian Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review: International Journal of Gynecological Cancer

Conclusions: This study suggests that women with diabetes have a moderately increased risk of ovarian cancer.

The Clinical Relevance of Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

Although advances in genomics during the last decade have opened new avenues for translational research and allowed the direct evaluation of clinical samples, there is still a need for reliable preclinical models to test therapeutic strategies. Human cancer-derived cell lines are the most widely used models to study the biology of cancer and to test hypotheses to improve the efficacy of cancer treatment. Since the development of the first cancer cell line, the clinical relevance of these models has been continuously questioned. Based upon recent studies that have fueled the debate, we review the major events in the development of the in vitro models and the emergence of new technologies that have revealed important issues and limitations concerning human cancer cell lines as models. All cancer cell lines do not have equal value as tumor models. Some have been successful, whereas others have failed. However, the success stories should not obscure the growing body of data that motivates us to develop new in vitro preclinical models that would substantially increase the success rate of new in vitro–assessed cancer treatments.

Mayo Clinic - Do Imaging Agents Cause Acute Kidney Injury? Mayo Study Questions the Connection

Mayo Clinic - Do Imaging Agents Cause Acute Kidney Injury? Mayo Study Questions the Connection

"Many physicians have long believed that the use of intravenous contrast agents for CT scans can cause acute kidney injury. New Mayo Clinic research questions the strength of the causal link between the two. The findings from two tandem studies are published online in the journal Radiology.....

DNA signs give hope on (ovarian) cancer - Australia

DNA signs give hope on cancer

AUSTRALIAN researchers have identified biological changes in the DNA of women with ovarian cancer, bringing them a step closer to an early detection test that could save hundreds of lives each year.
The head of ovarian cancer research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Goli Samimi, said her team had been able to detect differences in the DNA structure of ovarian cancer patients using a simple blood test.

(ovarian cancer survivor) Consumer Story - Annie Ellis, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Consumer Story - Annie Ellis, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Michelle Robinson : Partner Member Profile: “You’ll Never Walk Alone"

Partner Member Profile: “You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Michele Robinson came up with the idea for her cancer support group, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” during her first chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer in November 2004. “I was looking around the room and that song popped into my head. It was true—even though you do experience cancer yourself, no one knows what you feel but you—you don’t have to go through it alone.”
Today, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” welcomes survivors of all types of cancer, as well as “co-survivors”—spouses, family members or friends who are helping care for someone with cancer. Michele has experience with both sides: she is a survivor of breast and ovarian cancers, and cared for her late husband and father as they dealt with stomach, laryngeal and prostate cancers.
The support group meets twice a month in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.....

What really matters in cancer?: Putting people back into the heart of cancer policy.

abstract

Twenty-first century cancer is framed by the biomedical revolution. The cancer patient today enters a world dominated by the success and failures of biomedical science from gene to statistic. By any measure, bibliometric, financial, media profile or simply the lingua franca of everyday discourse about cancer, biomedicine occupies the majority of the cultural discourse around cancer. Yet the reality is that patients are people who are diagnosed, treated, survive and die with cancer in a world bounded by their personal and social experiences. Others they have known with the disease shape their values and concepts. The social determinants of cancer are of far greater importance in terms of prevention, treatment and care than is acknowledged in policy terms. In light of the demographic trend of a rapidly ageing population, increasing costs of healthcare and the urgent need to be able to deliver affordable cancer care set against the population's almost insatiable ability to absorb all types of healthcare, there is an urgent need to redress policy balance in terms of both understanding the social determinants of cancer and bringing new insights into evidence-based national cancer planning and delivery of services.

PMID: 23434310 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Satisfaction with oncology care among patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Satisfaction with care is important for quality assurance in oncology, but may differ between patients and caregivers. We aimed to assess satisfaction with cancer care in paired analyses of these groups, examine differences between them, and identify areas for potential intervention.

METHODS:

Patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers were recruited from 24 medical oncology outpatient clinics......

RESULTS:

Satisfaction ratings in the 191 patient-caregiver pairs were high, but patients were more satisfied (p = 0.02). Both groups were least satisfied with information regarding prognosis and pain management. Caregivers were significantly less satisfied than patients regarding coordination of care (p = 0.001) and family inclusion in treatment/care decisions (p < 0.0001). In both groups, higher education was associated with lower satisfaction (p ≤ 0.01), while better QOL predicted greater satisfaction (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Communication regarding pain control and prognosis were identified as key areas for improvement. Caregivers seem to desire greater involvement in treatment decisions, though this must be balanced with patient autonomy.

paywalled: Benefit and Harms of New Anti-Cancer Drugs - Online First - Springer

Abstract

Phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assess clinically important differences in endpoints that reflect benefit to and harm of patients. Defining benefit of cancer drugs can be difficult. Overall survival and quality of life are the most relevant primary endpoints, but difficulty in measuring these mean that other endpoints are often used, although their surrogacy or clinical relevance has not always been established. In general, advances in drug development have led to numerous new drugs to enter the market. Pivotal RCT of several new drugs have shown that benefit appeared greater for targeted anticancer agents than for chemotherapeutic agents. This effect seems particularly evident with targeted agents evaluated in biomarker-driven studies. Unfortunately, new therapies have also shown an increase in toxicity. Such toxicity is not always evident in the initial reports of RCTs. This may be a result of a statistical inability to detect differences between arms of RCTs, or occasionally due to biased reporting. There are several examples where reports of new toxicities could only be found in drug labels. In some cases, the small improvement in survival has come at a cost of substantial excess toxicity, leading some to consider such therapy as having equipoise.

Bilateral Ovarian Fibrothecoma Associated with Ascites, Bilateral Pleural Effusion, and Marked Elevated Serum CA-125

Abstract

Background.
The risk of ovarian cancer is increased in the association of ovarian tumor, ascites, and hydrothorax with the significant elevated tumor marker CA-125. However, this association can be observed in a rare clinical and benign pathological entity, that is Demons-Meigs' syndrome.

Objective.
To describe a rare case of Demons-Meigs' syndrome observed in our department.

Conclusion. The Demons-Meigs syndrome, although it strongly mimics the clinical picture of malignant metastatic ovarian cancer, remains a disease with benign prognosis after surgical tumor resection. This is a rare condition that must be known and recognized by practitioners to avoid unnecessary practices.

Cancer Treatment Reviews - A meta-analysis of the effects of chemotherapy on cognition in patients with cancer

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess whether chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment is consistently observed in cancer patients and to identify the areas of cognition affected.

Conclusions

Future research must be conducted on chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment in cancer types such as lymphoma and leukaemia, which have received a moderate amount of attention and colorectal cancer, which has received little attention. This would enable us to determine the extent to which chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment is a universal phenomenon associated with the cancer experience and its treatment regardless of cancer type.