Article • Between good practice and financial pitfalls
Delivering molecular pathology at lower costs
Molecular pathology should become centralised in fewer labs to improve efficiencies and affordability, according to leading European experts.
Search for: "ovarian cancer" - 128 articles found
News • Prevention of surgery complication
Sterilization: cut or remove fallopian tubes?
Women whose Fallopian tubes are removed during sterilization have only marginally more surgical complications than those whose tubes are simply cut, a study shows.
News • Research on physical conditions
Exploring the link between obesity and cancer risk
Why does obesity increase the risk of cancer and possibly metastasis? Researchers in Spain are currently investigating this very question.
Sponsored • All in one scan
World's First Total-Body PET/CT with 194 cm Axial FOV installed in Europe
The IRCCS in Bologna has inaugurated a state-of-the-art integrated PET/CT system. This cutting-edge technology allows for the entire human body to be studied in a single scan, even detecting the smallest tumour cells.
News • BRCA1 and BRCA2 malfunctions
Targeting 'exhausted' immune cells to prevent breast cancer
A study found immune cells in breast tissue of healthy women carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations show signs of ‘exhaustion’. This opens new possibilities for cancer prevention.
News • Ovarian, testicular cancer
Germ cell tumours: Lower survival in women
Women with a type of ovarian cancer known as germ cell tumours have a worse prognosis than men with similar tumours. The five-year survival rate was 98% for men, but 85% for women, a new study finds.
News • Memory impairment
"Chemo brain": gamma waves may be key to protection
Researchers have now shown that a noninvasive treatment that stimulates gamma frequency brain waves may hold promise for treating memory impairment and other cognitive effects of chemotherapy.
News • Tissue oxygenation
Photoacoustic imaging for better diagnoses of ovarian cancer
Researchers and clinicians at Washington University in St. Louis found a way to improve diagnostic accuracy of potentially cancerous lesions in the ovaries and adnexal regions, or the fallopian tubes.
News • Opportunistic screening using chest X-rays
AI identifies non-smokers at high risk for lung cancer
Incidence of lung cancer among people who never smoked is rising. A new AI tool opens the door for opportunistic screening for this group, using existing chest X-rays in the electronic medical record.
News • Surge in under 50s in past decades
The rising tide of early-onset cancers
Cancer has become strikingly more common in people under 50 in the past three decades, an international research team finds. The reseachers explore what this means for future death tolls.
News • Proof-of-concept research
Researchers reverse chemotherapy-related fertility loss
A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital demonstrates the potential for restoring fertility when the ovaries have stopped working.
News • Women's health
Why obesity makes ovarian cancer more deadly
A new study led by researchers from the University of Notre Dame links a high body mass index (BMI) to alterations in the structure and environment of cancerous tumors.
News • MCED for 50+ cancer types
Multi-cancer blood test shows real promise
A trial of a new blood test for more than 50 types of cancer correctly revealed two out of every three cancers in more than 5,000 people who had visited their GP with suspected symptoms.
News • Potential for new treatments
Researchers find new subtypes for ovarian cancer
New research from the University of Helsinki increases the understanding of ovarian cancer: the identification of new subtypes could help discover new treatments.
News • Oncology & Immunology
Researchers find new IgE antibody targeting skin cancer
A new class of immunotherapy shows promising results for fighting the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
News • Oncology & health informatics
Colon cancer: AI tool predicts survival, treatment response
A new artificial intelligence model could bring much-needed clarity to doctors delivering prognoses and deciding on treatments for patients with colorectal cancer.
News • Guidance about maximal cytoreductive surgery
Ovarian cancer: new recommendations for safer surgery
Patients with advanced ovarian cancer are now being recommended surgery that University of Birmingham researchers have found leads to better outcomes.
News • Precision medicine
Localising BRCA gene mutations to better treat ovarian cancer
An international team highlights the importance of localising BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Video • Digital patient support tool
Ovarian cancer: "Olivia" to provide information and support
Patients affected by ovarian cancer can turn to "Olivia": The interactive digital resource provides information about diagnostics, treatment and life with ovarian cancer.
Article • Prediction for breast, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial carcinoma
New test detects four women’s cancers from cervical screening samples
What if a test analysing cervical cells from a gynaecological swab could be used to detect four different female cancers at an early stage and also predict cancer risk over a healthy woman's lifetime? Researchers at the EUTOPS Institute in Innsbruck, Austria, are developing tests to do just that for breast, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancer detection.
News • Relapse rate research
Breast cancer: Fertility preservation measures do not increase recurrence risk
A new study shows that women with a breast cancer diagnosis undergoing procedures for fertility preservation are not at increased risk of recurrence of the disease or disease-specific mortality.
News • Diabetes
Device prevents buildup of scar tissue around implants
A new device, which doesn’t rely on immunosuppressing drugs, may assist efforts to develop an artificial pancreas to treat diabetes.
Article • Ovarian cancer and endometriosis detection
Women’s health imaging: PET/CT and T2*w MR show promise
Diagnostic imaging in women’s health advances: PET/CT might provide a more accurate imaging alternative to CT in ovarian cancer. T2*-weighted MR imaging in deep endometriosis detection also shows promise, but ultimately falls flat.
News • miR-634 vs. OSCC
Anti-cancer "dream cream" to shrink oral tumors
Modern medicine offers “peel and stick” solutions like nicotine or contraceptive patches to put right on the skin without needing to visit a doctor for an injection or procedure. Now, researchers have found that applying a topical ointment containing anti-tumor factor can increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
News • Cancer imaging
Using ultrasound to predict ovarian cancer
The appearance of ovarian lesions on ultrasound is an effective predictor of cancer risk that can help women avoid unnecessary surgery.
News • Promising approach
‘Drug factory’ implants eliminate ovarian, colorectal cancer in mice
Bioengineers have shown they can eradicate advanced-stage ovarian and colorectal cancer in mice in as little as six days with a treatment that could be ready for human clinical trials later this year.
News • Women's health
Breast and ovarian cancer risk assessment from cervical samples
Scientists have discovered a means of identifying the risk of breast and ovarian cancer by measuring epigenetic changes in cervical samples from over a thousand women.
News • BRCA and prostate, pancreatic cancers
Faulty 'breast cancer gene' BRCA also dangerous for men
Faulty versions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are well known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Now, they have been linked to several other cancers, including those that affect men.
Video • Prevention of triple-negative BRCA
Breast cancer vaccine: clinical trial started
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic have opened a novel study for a vaccine aimed at eventually preventing triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive and lethal form of the disease. This phase I trial is designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the vaccine in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer and to characterize and optimize the body’s immune response. The…
Article • Mass spectrometry goes handheld
A pen to pin down the fringes of cancer
Mass spectrometry – a powerful tool for analysing the molecular composition of a tissue sample – is invaluable during cancer surgery. However, mass spectrometers are complex and unwieldy, and certainly a poor fit for an operating room (OR). To create a bridge between the lab and OR, Professor Livia S Eberlin, from Baylor College of Medicine, has developed a very special ‘pen’.
Article • Precision oncology
Personalized health and genomics: Minimizing collateral damage
A solid diagnosis has always been the first step on any patient’s journey to health. However, diagnostic categories are necessarily oversimplifications. In the last decades, medical professionals and scientists have begun to uncover the true variability in patients’ physiological and biochemical make-up that is the principal cause for individual variations in the way diseases present…
Article • Oncology
Pancreatic cancer - current challenges and future direction
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…
News • Oncology early detection tool
Blood test for 50+ types of cancer promising for screening
Final results from a study of a blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer have shown that it is accurate enough to be rolled out as a multi-cancer screening test among people at higher risk of the disease, including patients aged 50 years or older, without symptoms. In a paper published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers report that the test accurately detected…
Article • Gender bias
Sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular diseases
Women are missing out on appropriate cardiac care because guidelines and medications often fail to take into account gender and conditions that specifically affect the female population. Women are also underrepresented in clinical trials for new cardiac therapies.
News • Infertility
Beckman Coulter launches Access AMH Advanced
Beckman Coulter announced the launch of an AMH test that uses a validated cut-off to aid in the assessment of poor ovarian response. This new assay helps clinicians predict poor ovarian response in those who plan to undergo controlled ovarian stimulation as part of an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) protocol.
Article • Earlier, better insights
New developments in whole-body MRI for prostate cancer
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) can detect prostate cancer and inform about treatment response and disease progression earlier and better than other imaging modalities. A Belgian expert will delve into the latest and future developments of the technique for prostate cancer and distant metastases imaging in a dedicated session at ECR. WB‐MRI and nuclear medicine -…
Article • Images and patient data combined
Integrated radiomics improves clinical outcomes
Harnessing the power of radiomics, and adopting an integrated approach to combine imaging and patient data could lead to better clinical cancer outcomes. The move has opened the door for clinicians to explore a non-invasive approach to identify the heterogeneity of a tumour and more accurately target regions for biopsy. During a presentation at ECR 2021 in March, Professor Evis Sala will…
News • Detect lingering disease
Liquid biopsy for colorectal cancer could guide therapy for tumors
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that a liquid biopsy examining blood or urine can help gauge the effectiveness of therapy for colorectal cancer that has just begun to spread beyond the original tumor. Such a biopsy can detect lingering disease and could serve as a guide for deciding whether a patient should undergo further treatments due to some…
News • Women's health
Hypertension symptoms in women often mistaken for menopause
Pregnancy complications and early menopause increase women’s future risk of heart disease. Cardiologists, gynaecologists and endocrinologists recommend how to help middle-aged women prevent later heart problems in a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) consensus document published in European Heart Journal, a journal of the ESC.
Article • He who seeks, finds
Pros and cons of MRI in breast cancer diagnosis
MRI is the most sensitive method to detect breast cancer. However, the current breast cancer guidelines for Europe, Germany and Austria, still only recommend it for certain indications: For early detection in high risk patients, for differentiation between scarring and recurrences after breast-conserving treatment and to detect cancers of unknown primary site. This is the theory. However, in…
Article • Machine learning advances diagnostics and prognostics
Computerized image analysis can predict cancer outcomes
The advent of digital pathology is offering a unique opportunity to develop computerized image analysis methods to diagnose disease and predict outcomes for cancer patients from histopathology tissue sections. Such advances can help predict risk of recurrence, disease aggressiveness and long-term survival, according to a leading expert in the field, Professor Anant Madabhushi from Case Western…
News • CT & ultrasound fusion
‘Virtual biopsies’ could replace tissue biopsies in the future
A new advanced computing technique using routine medical scans to enable doctors to take fewer, more accurate tumour biopsies, has been developed by cancer researchers at the University of Cambridge. This is an important step towards precision tissue sampling for cancer patients to help select the best treatment. In future the technique could even replace clinical biopsies with ‘virtual…
News • Genome editing system
CRISPR-based treatment destroys cancer cells
Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is very effective in treating metastatic cancers, a significant step on the way to finding a cure for cancer.
News • Improved patient response
Existing heart drugs may help with PD(L)1 immunotherapy
Researchers have found that a class of commonly-used heart drugs may also improve patients’ responses to anti-cancer immunotherapies called PD(L)1 inhibitors, according to preliminary findings to be presented at the 32th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.
News • Mechanisms identified
Fanconi anaemia: Researchers find reason for bone marrow failure
Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified the mechanism behind bone marrow failure developing in children that suffer from Fanconi anaemia. The findings will help to develop new therapies for the disorder.
News • Strict separation policy
Creating 'COVID-19 free' hospital areas to save lives after surgery
Setting up ‘COVID-19 free’ hospital areas for surgical patients could save lives during the second wave of the pandemic – reducing the risk of death from lung infections associated with coronavirus, a new global study reveals. Researchers working together in Brazil and beyond found that that patients who had their operation and hospital care in ‘COVID-19 free’ areas had better outcomes.…
News • New sensor tech
A more reliable way to early detect lung tumours
People who are at high risk of developing lung cancer, such as heavy smokers, are routinely screened with computed tomography (CT), which can detect tumors in the lungs. However, this test has an extremely high rate of false positives, as it also picks up benign nodules in the lungs. Researchers at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now developed a new approach to early…
News • Oncology breakthrough
Blood test detects 50+ cancer types, often before symptoms show
Researchers have developed the first blood test that can accurately detect more than 50 types of cancer and identify in which tissue the cancer originated, often before there are any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease. In a paper published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology, the researchers show that the test, which could eventually be used in national cancer screening…
News • Early detection
Support for lung cancer screening gains momentum in Scotland
The need to consider a formal recommendation on early screening for lung cancer was acknowledged by the Cross Party Group for Cancer, held at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in January. Attended by over 40 people representing patients, the medical community, and the pharmaceutical industry as well as political advisers and Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Group agreed to write to the…
Article • Underrated technique
Pitfalls in pelvic CT imaging
Computed tomography (CT) plays an increasingly important role in assessing pelvic disease, particularly when patients present with acute abdominal pain. In addition, radiomic approaches on CT are being developed to increase the characterisation of ovarian cancer for optimising treatment planning.
Article • Cystic lesions of the pancreas
A more complex question than ‘good’ vs ‘bad’
Cystic lesions of the pancreas can occur in many forms, not all of which pose a serious threat to the patient. A thorough diagnosis using multi-modality imaging is therefore indispensable to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions.
Video • One-size-fits-all-approach
New T-cell could make ‘universal’ cancer therapy possible
Researchers at Cardiff University have discovered a new type of killer T-cell that offers hope of a “one-size-fits-all” cancer therapy. T-cell therapies for cancer - where immune cells are removed, modified and returned to the patient’s blood to seek and destroy cancer cells - are the latest paradigm in cancer treatments. The most widely-used therapy, known as CAR-T, is personalised to each…
News • Tumour Matrisome Index (TMI)
Big data breakthrough in cancer diagnosis
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has discovered a new personalised tool to detect cancer, predict patient survivability and how well a cancer patient would respond to immunotherapy. This tool is a specially-designed cancer 'scorecard' to be used with the standard blood test for cancer (also known as liquid biopsy). This 'scorecard', which the team termed as…
Article • WB-MRI vs. prostate cancer
Whole-body MRI improves disease evaluation
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) is championed as offering significant benefits, such as improving disease evaluation for prostate cancer patients. During an intense session in genito-urinary cancer at ECR 2019, three key speakers focused on the advantages over conventional imaging modalities as well as discussing new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) tracers.
News • Chemical clues
AI blood test can spot signs of brain tumour
Chemical analysis of blood samples, combined with an artificial intelligence program, could speed up the diagnosis of brain tumours, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. Brain tumours tend to have ambiguous symptoms, such as headache or memory problems, and a brain scan is currently the only reliable way of diagnosing them. Researchers say their test, which works by…
Article • Cancer of unknown primary
CUP: in search for the smoking gun
Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) can send radiologists on a frustrating scavenger hunt: metastases were detected but the primary cancer is nowhere to be seen. Professor Alwin Krämer, Head of the Clinical Cooperation Unit Molecular Haematology/Oncology at University Hospital Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center, explains strategies for dealing with CUP.
News • Watching the change
Predicting cancer risk with computational electrodynamics
Researchers from Northwestern University are using Argonne supercomputers to advance the development of an optical microscopy technique that can predict and quantify cancer risks at extremely early stages. The basic principle driving Allen Taflove’s computational electrodynamics research — which bears the potential to transform how we diagnose, and possibly treat, various forms of cancer —…
News • Ovarian and breast cancer
New insights into BRCA1 gene functions
Research led by the University of Birmingham has found important new ways that the BRCA1 gene functions which could help develop our understanding of the development of ovarian and breast cancers. The research, published in Nature, was led by experts at the University of Birmingham’s Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology and Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences and is part of a five-year…
Article • Emergency medicine
Abdominal imaging: CT, MRI or CEUS?
The pros and cons of CT (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CEUS (contrast enhanced ultrasound) for emergency abdominal use were highlighted by speakers in an ECR 2019 session under the broader heading: ‘Abdominal Emergencies: advanced imaging in daily routine’.
News • New blood test
Reducing unnecessary ovarian cancer surgery
The majority of women who undergo surgery for suspected ovarian cancer do not have cancer. A novel blood test developed by researchers at Uppsala University and the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, now offers the possibility of more precise diagnostics without the need for surgery. This could lead to a reduction in unnecessary surgery and to earlier detection and treatment for…
News • ctDNA vs. HGSOC
Taking 'molecular snapshots' of ovarian cancer
High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most common and aggressive subtype of ovarian cancer. The HGSOC tumors consist of several heterogeneous cell populations with a large number of mutations. This genetic variability makes it difficult to find drugs that would kill all the cancer cells, and to which the cells would not become resistant during treatment. Over half of the patients…
News • In situ vaccination
Turning tumors into cancer vaccine factories
Researchers at Mount Sinai have developed a novel approach to cancer immunotherapy, injecting immune stimulants directly into a tumor to teach the immune system to destroy it and other tumor cells throughout the body. The “in situ vaccination” worked so well in patients with advanced-stage lymphoma that it is also undergoing trials in breast and head and neck cancer patients, according to a…
News • PARG inhibitors
New class of drugs could treat ovarian cancer
A team of researchers across The University of Manchester have shown that a new class of drugs are able to stop ovarian cancer cells growing. The Cancer Research UK and Wellcome Trust funded study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, showed that the drugs, called PARG inhibitors, can kill ovarian cancer cells by targeting weaknesses within their ability to copy their DNA. The first-in-class…
News • Machine learning tool
AI can predict survival of ovarian cancer patients
Researchers have created a new machine learning software that can forecast the survival rates and response to treatments of patients with ovarian cancer. The artificial intelligence software, created by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Melbourne, has been able to predict the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer more accurately than current methods. It can also…
News • Oral contraceptives
Can birth control pills keep you from recognising emotions?
The pill could be blurring your social judgement ‒ but perhaps not enough so you'd notice. By challenging women to identify complex emotional expressions like pride or contempt, rather than basic ones like happiness or fear, scientists have revealed subtle changes in emotion recognition associated with oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use. Published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, their study found…
Video • Controversial research
HIV and gene editing: beware of the butterfly effect, cautions expert
The claim of a chinese professor has caused quite a controversy: He Jiankui announced that he successfully modified human DNA to prevent two girls from contracting HIV. Upon the leak of this research, ethicists and scientists alike condemned Jiankui's gene editing in humans. West Virginia University Vice President and Executive Dean for Health Sciences Dr. Clay Marsh says that although “a lot…
News • Early diagnosis
New blood test detects early stage ovarian cancer
Research on a bacterial toxin first discovered in Adelaide has led to the development a new blood test for the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer - a disease which kills around 150,000 women globally each year.
News • Open source
Machine Learning tool could help choose cancer drugs
The selection of a first-line chemotherapy drug to treat many types of cancer is often a clear-cut decision governed by standard-of-care protocols, but what drug should be used next if the first one fails? That’s where Georgia Institute of Technology researchers believe their new open source decision support tool could come in. Using machine learning to analyze RNA expression tied to…
News • Analyzing free-floating DNA
Blood test shows potential for early detection of lung cancer
A test that analyzes free-floating DNA in the blood may be able to detect early-stage lung cancer, a preliminary report from the ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) study suggests. Lead study author Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: “There is an unmet need globally for early-detection tests for lung cancer that can be easily implemented by health-care…
News • Fact-checking
Inherited cancer and genetic testing - looking beyond the myths
Cancer is a genetic disease caused by abnormal changes over time to genes that control cell function, typically starting in a single cell (an acquired mutation) and often not linked to an inherited genetic mutation. In other words, most cancers happen by chance. Only about 5 to 10 percent of cancers are due to an inherited genetic mutation, says Monique Lubaton, MGC, CGC, cancer genetic counselor…
News • Breast cancer
Double mastectomy slashes risk - but not for all women
Healthy women who carry a breast cancer-causing mutation in the BRCA1 gene, not only reduce their risk of developing the disease but also their chances of dying from it if they have both breasts removed, according to new research presented at the 11th European Breast Cancer Conference. However, the study also found that for women with a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, there was no difference in their…
News • Major success
Colorectal cancer deaths go down 7% - but it's too early to celebrate yet
The decline in cancer of the intestines – colorectal cancer – is one of the major success stories of the past 30 years in Europe say researchers, as they predict that in 2018 death rates from the disease will continue to fall by around seven per cent compared to 2012. In a study published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers predict that death rates in the European…
Article • Initiative
Knowledge dissemination key to defeating cancer?
Half of cancers can be avoided if institutions would exchange knowledge, according to Joxel García, executive director of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who opened the Center’s meeting in Madrid in October 2016. Technology has progressed enormously and there has never been that much knowledge of cancer to prevent it and find treatment tools.
News • CancerSEEK
Single blood test screens for 8 cancer types
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers developed a single blood test that screens for eight common cancer types and helps identify the location of the cancer. The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that simultaneously evaluates levels of eight cancer proteins and the presence of cancer gene mutations from circulating DNA in the blood. The test is aimed at…
News • Patterns in blood serum
New marker detects fatal breast cancer earlier
A new marker that could be used to diagnose fatal breast cancer up to one year ahead of current methods has been identified in a study led by UCL. The study found that changes detected in a part of DNA which the researches named EFC#93 could suggest early signs of deadly breast cancer. Importantly, these abnormal patterns are present in blood serum before the cancer becomes detectable in the…
Article • Breast cancer detection
New DNA test could prevent thousands of mastectomies
A new genetic test to assess breast cancer risk in women who have a family history of the disease could be introduced into clinical practice in the UK within the next few months. Devised at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the University of Manchester, researchers believe the test for high-risk groups could also help reduce the number of women needing to have surgery to remove…
News • More than the sum of its parts?
Combination strategy could hold promise for ovarian cancer
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers demonstrated that mice with ovarian cancer that received drugs to reactivate dormant genes along with other drugs that activate the immune system had a greater reduction of tumor burden and significantly longer survival than those that received any of the drugs alone. The study already spurred a clinical trial in ovarian cancer patients. The…
News • Tumor analysis
Immune response to ovarian cancer may predict survival
A group of international cancer researchers led by investigators from Mayo Clinic and University of New South Wales Sydney has found that the level of a type of white blood cell, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, present in the tumors of patients with high-grade ovarian cancer may predict a patient’s survival. “We know that a type of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte called cytotoxic CD8 are…
News • Breast & ovarian cancer
Few women take a recommended genetic test
Of the nearly 4 million women in the United States who have had either breast cancer or ovarian cancer, at least 1.5 million have a high risk of carrying certain types of genetic mutations that could increase their risk for additional cancers in the future.
News • Oncology
Blood test spots tumor-derived DNA in early-stage cancers
In a bid to detect cancers early and in a noninvasive way, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have developed a test that spots tiny amounts of cancer-specific DNA in blood.
News • Gene-based testing
Skewing the aim of targeted cancer therapies
Headlines, of late, have touted the successes of targeted gene-based cancer therapies, such as immunotherapies, but, unfortunately, also their failures.
News • Study
Mushroom protein could be used in leukemia treatments
A protein found in the edible mushroom known as "shaggy ink cap" might be able to kill a type of leukemia cell, new research suggests.
Article • Tumour development
In view: Customised breast cancer care
UK-based researchers believe personalised treatment for breast cancer is within sight after uncovering what they say is the most detailed picture to date of which genetic variations contribute to development of the disease.
News • Fertility preservation
Is 'ovarian tissue freezing' superior to egg freezing?
Many women are turning to egg freezing to promote fertility, but what happens when it isn't an option because of special medical or other conditions? And, what option is there for women who want to preserve hormonal function, not just fertility?
News • Colorectal cancer
Raising age limit for Lynch syndrome testing may save lives
Raising the age limit for routine genetic testing in colorectal cancer could identify more cases of families affected by Lynch syndrome, a condition that accounts for around 5% of all colon cancers, according to new research to be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics.
News • Going Viral
An unusual 'friend' to help fight ovarian cancer
In some cases, the Lassa virus starts with a fever and general weakness, moving toward headache, muscle pain, possible facial swelling, deafness, and worse. About 15 percent of patients hospitalized with severe cases die. Lassa fever is contagious, endemic in West Africa, and Dr. Anthony van den Pol thinks he can use it to cure ovarian cancer.
Article • Fertility
Social freezing on demand in the future
Since 2006 around 100 centres that offer fertility preservation for cancer and non-cancer patients in Austria, Germany and Switzerland have joined forces to form the FertiPROTEKT network.
News • Breast Cancer
Biomarker Identified for Likely Aggressive, Early Stage Breast Cancer
The one-size-fits-all approach to early stage breast cancer creates a paradox: Millions of dollars are spent on unnecessary surgeries and radiation to treat women with low-risk ‘in situ’ lesions, an estimated 85% of which would never progress to invasive cancers. Meanwhile, the standard conservative treatment is insufficient for many early-stage tumors that have progressed past the in situ…
News • Breathalyzer
Clinical Laboratories Could Soon Diagnose 17 Diseases with Single Breath Analyzer Test
The Technion breathalyzer would give pathology groups and medical laboratories unprecedented ability to support physicians in diagnosing and treating cancers, chronic diseases, and other illnesses.
Article • Breast Cancer
Mammography screening with MR
Breast cancer screening is traditionally a mammography – ultrasound business but abbreviated protocols could enable more women to be imaged with MR and receive treatment earlier, a leading researcher will show during the annual Garmisch MR meeting.
News • Cancer
Researchers develop biosensor to detect malignant tumors before they form
Researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid have developed a biosensor capable of detecting cancer antibodies in patients with colorectal and ovarian cancer.
News • breath samples
You are what you exhale
An international team of 56 researchers in five countries has confirmed a hypothesis first proposed by the ancient Greeks – that different diseases are characterized by different “chemical signatures” identifiable in breath samples. The findings by the team led by Professor Hossam Haick of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie…
News • Celebrity
The ‘Angelina Jolie’ Effect on breast cancer screening
Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she'd tested positive for BRCA1, a gene associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows a spike in genetic tests for breast cancer after actress’ public disclosure, but no corresponding increase in mastectomies.
News • Oncology
Fighting cancer with sticky nanoparticles
A team of researchers at Yale found that a treatment using bioadhesive nanoparticles loaded with a potent chemotherapy drug proved more effective and less toxic than conventional treatments for gynecological cancer.
Overcoming multidrug-resistant cancer with smart nanoparticles
Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the mechanism by which many cancers develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs, resulting in minimal cell death and the expansion of drug-resistant tumors. To address the problem of resistance, researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed nanoparticles that…
News • Oncology
3-D Models yield insights into ovarian cancer
With a unique approach that draws on 3-D printing technologies, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers is developing new tools for understanding how ovarian cancer develops in women.
Article • Ovarian cancer
The story of the silent killer
Andrea G. Rockall, Consultant Radiologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Visiting Professor of Radiology at Imperial College in London, delivered the prestigious Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Honorary Lecture at ECR 2016 on ‘Imaging the invisible killer: towards personalisation of ovarian cancer care’.
Probing the mystery of how cancer cells die
You’ve probably never heard of “sphingolipids” before. But these curiously named organic compounds play a vital role in one of humanity’s most well-known diseases: cancer.
Article • Politics
England’s harsh slash at cancer drugs list
Around 25 treatments for seriously ill patients with specific cancers listed on England’s National Health Service’s Cancer Drug Fund are to be removed. This large change is likely to affect patients with cancers of the breast, bowel, prostate, blood, upper gastrointestine, brain and central nervous system, as well as gynaecological cases. Report: Mark Nicholls
Sponsored • Obstetrics
New atlas will redefine OB/GYN imaging
Using the Arietta V70 from Hitachi, a French diagnostic imaging team is rewriting the book on obstetrics and gynaecology. Entitled the ‘Atlas d’échographie de fusion en gynécologie obstétrique’, the new edition by Jean-Marc Levaillant MD, and colleagues from the diagnostic imaging centres at the Bicêtre and Créteil hospitals in Paris, will be published before the end of 2015.
News • Lung cancer
Immunotherapy superior to chemotherapy?
Researchers compared an immunotherapy and a chemotherapy drug in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease continued to progress after first-line chemotherapy. They found that nivolumab improved overall survival and was generally well tolerated. The results are significant because options for patients whose lung cancer progresses after initial treatment are…
News • Toolkit
Microchip helps to visualize breast cancer proteins
A photograph may reveal how something looks, but direct observation can divulge how the objects behave. The difference can mean life or death, especially when it comes to fighting human disease. To help researchers examine exactly how human diseases work at the molecular level, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist Deborah Kelly has developed a new set of tools to peer into the…
News • Mutations
Cancer Genes open door to targeted treatments
In a discovery that could lead to more targeted and effective treatments for certain lung and prostate cancers, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified two new cancer-causing gene mutations – mutations that may be particularly susceptible to cancer-fighting drugs already approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. One of the gene mutations also may…
News • Breakthrough
Cell discovery offers new strategy to attack cancer
University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered a new strategy for attacking cancer cells that could fundamentally alter the way doctors treat and prevent the deadly disease. By more selectively targeting cancer cells, this method offers a strategy to reduce the length of and physical toll associated with current treatments.
Article • Oophorectomy
Leading expert takes stand against prophylactic oophorectomy
“I am very concerned about the impact that Angelina Jolie has on the media,” Walter Rocca, professor of epidemiology and neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, stated. He wasn’t hinting to Jolie’s acting choices or waifish silhouette, but to the confusion surrounding her decision to remove her ovaries to prevent ovarian cancer. By Mélisande Rouger
Study finds gene mutations sensitize tumors to specific cancer drugs
Mutations in ARID1a, which are common in many cancer types, disrupt DNA damage repair in cancer cells, allowing the cancer to progress. This gene may also be an Achilles' heel when treating certain tumors, according to a team of researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
News • Ovarian cancer
Genetic testing should be accessible to all women
The genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 play a significant role in hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Recent media attention has focused on American actress Angelina Jolie's decision to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed after genetic testing for such cancers.
Experts recommend 'ultrasound first' for imaging the female pelvis
Ultrasound technology has evolved dramatically in recent years. A group of noted obstetricians and gynecologists maintain that ultrasound is more cost-effective and safer than other imaging modalities for imaging the female pelvis and should be the first imaging modality used for patients with pelvic symptoms.
Article • Genomics
MRI holds predictive potential in oncology
The ‘MRI of the Adnexa, Essentials and Beyond’ session from at the MR 2015 symposium held in Garmisch, Austria, presented tips and tricks in clinical routine before moving to research that combines imaging and genomic data to better evaluate ovarian cancer. Report: John Brosky
News • Ovarian cancer
Anderson Algorithm increases surgical success
A surgical algorithm developed and implemented by ovarian cancer specialists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center dramatically increases the frequency of complete removal of all visible tumor - a milestone strongly tied to improved survival.
Healthcare economics
Research using an analytical health economics model has suggested the current system of screening within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is only moderately likely to be cost effective.
New cooperation in research on ovarian cancer
Sanofi and the Curie Institute, through its Curie-Cancer partnership under the Institut Carnot label, today announce the establishment of a three-year research collaboration to identify new therapeutic targets for the development of treatments for ovarian cancer.
Cancer has a smell and breathprint
Israel - Researchers are using breath-test technology to detect volatile organic compounds to tell whether a patient has stomach cancer.
Breast Cancer Risk: Genes and Environment Interacting
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg have been the first to prove that genetic and environmental risk factors for breast cancer do not act independently of each other.
The importance of MRI for gynaecological malignancies
Hedvig Hricak, Chair of the Radiology Department at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA, describes emerging applications and potential trends in gynaecological cancer treatment described at the 15th International Symposium Crossing Barriers
New method to personalize chemotherapy drug selection
In laboratory studies, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a way to personalize chemotherapy drug selection for cancer patients by using cell lines created from their own tumors.
Article • Ovarian viability
Checking the biological clock
‘The egg timer test’ is widely used to help determine how long a woman can expect to remain fertile. Lately it has shown even greater potential for clinical use as a biomarker for ovarian viability.
Hybrid imaging: Virtual FDG-PET/CT bronchoscopy
Virtual FDG-PET/CT bronchoscopy has been found to be a technically feasible tool for the detection of lymph node metastases in non-small cell lung cancer patients with good diagnostic accuracy, according to researchers at the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Dusseldorf and Essen.
Hybrid imaging: PET-CT and MR-PET
A series of papers presented at the European Congress of Radiology on Friday have highlighted how hybrid imaging is helping radiologists achieve better results in the diagnosis of patients’ conditions. In a session focussing on molecular imaging and entitled “Hybrid imaging: PET-CT and MR-PET”, findings from ten different research papers were detailed by radiologists from Italy,…
Could high coffee intake cut breast cancer risk?
Oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, remains hard to treat despite major advances in surgery and adjuvant therapies. The latest results from a Swedish study [Pub: Breast Cancer Res. 2011 May 14;13(3):R49] suggest that a high daily intake of coffee -- more than five cups -- is associated with a statistically significant decrease in ER-negative breast cancer among postmenopausal women…
AACC publishes program for 2011 annual meeting
2011 The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) has published the program for its 2011 Annual Meeting being held July 23 – 28 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. This year the Annual Meeting features almost 300 individual educational events in a variety of formats. Hot topics for 2011 include cancer, obesity, diabetes, and healthcare reform.
The German Senology Congress 2010 - Celebrating 30 years of breast care
The German Senology Society has campaigned for women’s breast health for 30 years. Founded in 1980 on the then very novel concept of organ-related, interdisciplinary, scientific cooperation, today a large percentage of the society’s 1,800 members are gynaecologists, radiologists, surgeons and internists.
Mass screening for prostate cancer in Europe still not recommended
The European Association of Urology reiterated that it does not recommend a mass screening policy in Europe for men who are concerned over prostate cancer, a stance which reflects the position it issued last year regarding prostate cancer screening.
Synthetic lethality
Completion of a Phase I clinical trial has demonstrated the great promise of a completely new type of cancer treatment, according to results announced this June in The New England Journal of Medicine by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden Hospital in the United Kingdom, working with pharma firm AstraZeneca.
World First Early Stage Diagnostic Test for Ovarian Cancer
There is now new hope for women around the world, with the launch of an early detection test for ovarian cancer, according to HealthLinx Limited. The test, developed in Melbourne by HealthLinx scientists in collaboration with ARL Pathology, is called the OvPlex™ Panel and works by identifying whether five biomarkers (proteins) are present in a blood sample.
Cancer care advances — but at what cost?
Although incremental improvements in cancer care were unveiled at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology held in Chicago, USA, — the world's largest gathering of cancer specialists, our correspondent Ian Mason writes that, even as new study results were being reported, their cost implications for stretched healthcare budgets were questioned.
Austria
EH correspondent H-C Pruszinsky reports
Article • In vitro fertilisation
Watch out for IVF identity fraud
Hospitals and fertility clinics across Europe are to be warned that safeguards must be implemented to prevent impostors gaining access to IVF treatment.