Current opinion in obstetrics & gynecology
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Curr. Opin. Obstet. Gynecol. · Feb 2008
ReviewDiscovery and application of protein biomarkers for ovarian cancer.
To review the protein biomarker research field in ovarian cancer, including the discovered new biomarkers, biomarker panels, their potential clinical applications, and suggested strategies for biomarker discovery and development. ⋯ The present review summarizes the main advances in the past year, with the lists of biomarkers/panels, their potential applications, and new strategies/lessons we learned based on the most important work published during this period.
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Curr. Opin. Obstet. Gynecol. · Feb 2008
ReviewUpdate on lymphadenectomy in early and advanced ovarian cancer.
Pelvic and para-aortic lymphnode sampling is an integral part of the staging system of ovarian cancer. The issue concerning lymphadenectomy in the management of the disease is still debated, however. The purpose of this paper is to review the role of systematic lymphadenectomy in patients affected by early and advanced-stage ovarian cancer. ⋯ Systematic lymphadenectomy has a diagnostic value in early-stage ovarian cancer, thanks to the possibility of accurate clinical staging. As up to 22% of women, who were presumed to have early-stage ovarian cancers, are upstaged during the lymphadenectomy procedure, accurate staging can help to avoid unnecessary postoperative chemotherapy. In patients affected by advanced ovarian cancer, systematic lymphadenectomy statistically significantly improves progression-free survival and reduces recurrence rates despite a higher incidence of postoperative complications. As improvement of overall survival is not statistically significant, further studies are needed to balance risks and benefits of systematic lymphadenectomy in advanced-stage disease.