Gynecologic oncology
-
Evidence of a mortality benefit continues to elude ovarian cancer (OC) screening. Data from the US Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial which used a screening strategy incorporating CA125 cut-off and transvaginal ultrasound has not shown mortality benefit. ⋯ The article explores the impact of growing insights into disease aetiology and evolution and biomarker discovery on future screening strategies. A better understanding of the target lesion, improved design of biomarker discovery studies, a focus on detecting low volume disease using cancer specific markers, novel biospecimens such as cervical cytology and targeted imaging and use of time series algorithms for interpreting markers profile suggests that a new era in screening is underway.
-
Gynecologic oncology · Feb 2014
Regional variation in surgical assessment of lymph nodes for staging among women with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer.
To investigate geographical and socioeconomic variations in performance of lymph node dissection for the evaluation of patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. ⋯ The variation in ovarian cancer surgical care by region reported in this study has implications for access and outcomes for patients with early-stage disease. Study findings merit further investigation and should be characterized to permit targeted interventions aimed at reducing the observed disparities.
-
Gynecologic oncology · Feb 2014
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with six cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel in advanced ovarian cancer patients unsuitable for primary surgery: Safety and effectiveness.
Three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking (ID) surgery is an alternative for patients with advanced ovarian cancer unresectable disease. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of six cycles of NACT followed by cytoreduction. ⋯ Six cycles of neoadjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel was safe and effective and did not increase perioperative or postoperative complications in patients with stage IIIC/IV disease who were unsuitable for optimal PDS. The overall survival of this cohort was higher than that of those treated with ID surgery.