New Biomarkers Tests for Ovarian Cancer

Great new article about new biomarker testing at the end of this year concerning ovarian cancer. Every woman needs to read this to educate yourself and share with others about what is involved with this life threatening cancer.

Autotelic Lab, Fountain Valley, a developer of quantitative rapid tests, announced today that it will be presenting a poster “The Hormones BNP and FSH in Ovarian Cancer: Potential as Diagnostic Biomarkers” at ENDO 2012. Ovarian cancer accounts for approximately 3 percent of all cancers in women and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the United States. Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality of all cancers of the female reproductive system. This reflects, in part, a lack of early symptoms and effective ovarian cancer screening tests. Thus, ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, after the cancer has spread beyond the ovary. Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125, aka Mucin16) is overproduced by ovarian cancer cells; however, it cannot be used as a diagnostic biomarker for ovarian cancer as it can be absent when disease is present, or levels can be high when no disease or no malignant disease exists. Serial changes in CA125 levels, if elevated, however, can be useful in assessment of disease status and progression. Ovarian epithelial cancer is more common in individuals with elevated Gonadotropin-releasing hormones (GnRH) including Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) such as postmenopausal women or women who have received treatment to induce ovulation. Conversely, reduced risk of ovarian cancer is associated with a history of multiple pregnancies, breastfeeding, oral contraceptive use, and estrogen replacement therapy, all of which are related to lower levels of and reduced exposure to FSH and LH. FSH regulates gene expression in ovarian tumors and causes neovascularization of ovarian cancers by increasing Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) expression through upregulation of survivin. We therefore examined FSH levels in relation to CA125 as potential diagnostic marker for ovarian cancer using a quantitative point-of-care device for FSH that was recently developed for therapeutic drug monitoring. The surprising potential of FSH and/or Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) as diagnostic biomarkers for ovarian cancer will be presented.

These tests are performed on serum from a blood draw. It usually take a few days to get the results,but are very informative for the oncologist as far as plan of treatment.

                                  An Inspiring Story of a woman (physician) Diagnosed With Ovarian

Cancerhttp://news.topwirenews.com/2012/06/23/fsh-and-bnp-as-potential-diagnostic-biomarker-for-ovarian-cancer/%

Not All Women are Treated the Same With Ovarian Cancer

Researcher finds problems with the fact that  all women with ovarian cancer do not have access to top quality care to boost survival.
Dr. Robert Bristow believes a decidedly low-tech approach could significantly enhance the survival rate for ovarian cancer, even though it’s the deadliest women’s reproductive cancer, claiming 15,000 lives each year; it has no reliable screening or prevention methods; and its research funding is about one-sixth the amount for breast cancer.
 According to CancerCenter.com recent study and interview there only need to be excellent care for all women concerning ovarian cancer.


“We don’t have to redesign a molecule to improve the outcome for women with ovarian cancer,” says Bristow, the Philip J. DiSaia Chair in Gynecologic Oncology and director of UC Irvine’s Division of Gynecologic Oncology. “Recent research has shown that the most profound impact on survivorship occurs when women get proper care from surgeons trained in the latest techniques for treating ovarian cancer.”


The sad news is that it was discovered that women with low income and black women did not receive the excellent care as white women or affluent women. This study was done in March of 2012. Our health plans have got to change.


“Not all women are benefiting equally from improvements in ovarian cancer care,” Bristow says. “The reasons behind these disparities are not entirely clear, which is why we need additional research.”

For the women who did not receive excellent care due to race and social standing they also extended the research to see if when they were treated for ovarian cancer if the they followed the National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines.

Bristow and colleagues found that five-year survival rates varied significantly. (Improvement in ovarian cancer care is measured in length of survival after diagnosis rather than a “cure” rate.)
Among those whose care met NCCN standards, the rate for white women was 41.4 percent, compared with 33.3 percent for African American women. Among those whose care did not meet NCCN standards, the rate for white women was 37.8 percent, compared with 22.5 percent for African American women. Those on Medicaid or without insurance faced a 30 percent increased risk of death. Poor women – defined as having an annual household income of less than $35,000 – had worse survival rates regardless of race.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-ovarian-cancer.html