In a study published by Louvanto et al in Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers investigated the ability of a DNA methylation panel to determine between disease progression and regression among women of childbearing age with untreated cervical intraepithelial dysplasia. In the majority of...
Fertility treatment is not associated with an increased long-term risk of ovarian cancer, according to the results of a large-scale multicenter study presented by Spaan et al at the 35th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (Abstract O-183). The findings,...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to a phospholipid-drug conjugate in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; granted Orphan Drug designation to an immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC); accepted supplemental biologics license applications (sBLAs) ...
Limiting ovarian cancer surgery to high-volume hospitals could improve survival but may also reduce access for many rural and underserved patients, a study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found. The findings were published by Wright et al...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted a new drug application for niraparib in the treatment of certain pretreated gynecologic cancers; granted Fast Track designation to a T-cell product; accepted investigational new drug applications for a myelopreservation agent and an...
On June 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab-bvzr (Zirabev), a biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin), for the treatment of five types of cancer: metastatic colorectal cancer; unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell ...
Results from the phase III NRG Oncology clinical trial GOG 0261 comparing paclitaxel plus carboplatin to paclitaxel plus ifosfamide in women with stage I–IV recurrent carcinosarcoma of the uterus or ovary found that treatment with paclitaxel/carboplatin was not inferior to...
An analysis of data from the National Cancer Database found that after implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), ovarian cancer was diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage among women younger than age 65. More women also received treatment within 30 days of diagnosis, thereby...
There is a high, unmet need for effective treatments for patients with recurrent, metastatic, or persistent cervical cancer—most patients are young, and survival rates are poor. Adoptive cell transfer using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has demonstrated durable responses in some...
A team of researchers have identified 34 genes that are associated with an increased risk for developing the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. The findings, published by Gusev et al in Nature Genetics, may help identify women who are at highest risk of developing ovarian cancer and pave the way...
A new study reports that a type of cervical cancer that is less amenable to detection by Papanicolaou (Pap) testing is increasing in several subpopulations of women, pointing to the growing importance of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and vaccination. The study was published by Islami ...
Researchers have observed for several years that people who have a history of using oral contraceptives are less likely to develop ovarian cancer. A team from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University at Buffalo analyzed those connections more deeply, reporting that the protective ...
A study among epithelial ovarian cancer survivors from 25 cooperative Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup centers in France showed similar quality of life compared to healthy controls who were randomly selected from the electoral rolls, but persistent long-term fatigue. The researchers found depression,...
Data from post hoc exploratory analyses from the phase III ARIEL3 clinical study of rucaparib in recurrent ovarian cancer was presented during oral plenary and poster sessions at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. These analyses...
Results from a clinical trial presented by Cibula et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer showed that a new immunotherapy treatment significantly prolongs survival in women with recurrent ovarian cancer when added to standard...
Findings from a recent clinical trial presented in a Scientific Plenary session at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer revealed that women with recurrent ovarian cancer who received niraparib as maintenance therapy experienced more time...
A recent National Cancer Database study has shown the current standard of care for advanced cervical cancer—external-beam radiation and chemotherapy in combination with brachytherapy—provides significantly higher overall survival over chemoradiation alone. However, the addition of...
A study by Pierce et al presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer showed that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates in Alabama are highest in counties with high incidence rates of HPV-related cancer (Abstract 13). ...
The FDA recently issued announcements on a Fast Track designation, a Priority Review, two supplemental new drug applications, an investigational new drug application, and a marketing clearance. The agency also released a safety communication on cancer-related surgery. Fast Track Designation for...
Scientists have developed a new test that scans the shapes of tumor cells to select women with especially aggressive ovarian cancer. A team at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, created an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that looks for clusters of cells within tumors with misshapen...
A global resource that includes data on thousands of inherited variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is available to the public. The BRCA Exchange was created through the BRCA Challenge, a long-term demonstration project initiated by the Global Alliance for Genomics and...
On December 19, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved olaparib (Lynparza) for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic BRCA-mutated advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer...
An international team of researchers has developed, calibrated, and validated a novel tool for identifying the genetic changes in Lynch syndrome genes that are likely to be responsible for causing symptoms of the disease. The results were published by Drost et al in Genetics in Medicine. ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued the following new approvals and designations: Approval for Pegfilgrastim Biosimilar The FDA recently approved a pegfilgrastim biosimilar, pegfilgrastim-cbqv (Udenyca). The biosimilar has been approved to decrease the incidence...
Two-year maintenance therapy with olaparib (Lynparza), a poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, led to a substantial improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) in newly diagnosed patients with advanced ovarian cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation, results from the phase III SOLO-1 trial...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental application for recombinant human papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent vaccine (Gardasil 9), expanding the approved use of the vaccine to include women and men aged 27 through 45 years. Gardasil 9 prevents certain cancers and...
An analysis of the NRG Oncology clinical trial NRG-GY003 suggests that adding ipilimumab (Yervoy), a monoclonal antibody that targets the protein receptor cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), to a regimen with the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) could improve response ...
The number of adolescents who are up to date on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination—meaning they started and completed the HPV vaccine series—increased 5 percentage points from 2016 to 2017, according to results from a national survey published by Walker et al in Morbidity and...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to AVB-S6-500 as a potential treatment for platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. About AVB-S6-500 AVB-S6-500 is a novel high-affinity, soluble Fc-fusion protein designed to block the activation of the GAS6-AXL...
Medically underserved women in the Southeast region of the United States diagnosed with breast cancer or ovarian cancer may have not received genetic testing that could have helped them and their relatives make important decisions about their health, according to new research from Vanderbilt-Ingram ...
PapGene, Inc, has announced their cancer detection test has received Breakthrough Device designation from the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The PapGene test is a multianalyte test that uses a combination of circulating tumor DNA...
The careHPV Test, a molecular diagnostic for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) designed to screen women in low-resource settings, has been added to the World Health Organization (WHO) list of prequalified in vitro diagnostics (IVDs). HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer, so ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for lenvatinib (Lenvima) in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the potential treatment of patients with advanced and/or metastatic non–microsatellite instability high (MSI-H)/proficient...
The gains in insurance coverage with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) have already translated into improved health for young women with gynecologic cancers, who are getting diagnosed at earlier stages of their disease because of ACA benefits. That’s the conclusion of a new ...
Following concerns over many years that hormonal stimulation of the ovaries necessary for in vitro fertilization (IVF) may increase the risk of ovarian cancer, a nationwide cohort study from Denmark has now concluded that any perceived increase in risk is actually a statistical bias resulting from...
On June 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review a new supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for recombinant human papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent vaccine (Gardasil 9). The application is seeking approval for an expanded age...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) followed by bevacizumab as a single agent for the treatment of women with advanced (stage III or IV) ovarian cancer following initial surgical resection....
On June 12, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer and disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) [Combined Positive Score...
A genomic study of more than 15,000 tumor samples showed that people who have tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H)—a genomic marker associated with a large number of genetic mutations in the tumor—are more likely to have Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that...
Tesaro recently announced results from the QUADRA study, which was designed to assess the clinical benefit of niraparib (Zejula) treatment in heavily pretreated patients with ovarian cancer. Results successfully achieved the prespecified primary endpoint and demonstrated niraparib monotherapy...
A rare but potentially serious complication following radiation treatment for cervical cancer is a narrowing of the tube that takes urine from the kidneys to the bladder (the ureter), which can lead to kidney damage and sometimes life-threatening infections. This is called ureteral stricture and,...
A new type of cancer vaccine has yielded promising results in an initial clinical trial conducted at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The personalized vaccine is made from a patient’s own immune ...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved rucaparib (Rubraca) tablets for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who have a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. The FDA...
Participation in clinical trials may overcome health disparities in the treatment of advanced or recurrent ovarian cancer, according to a study presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 2018 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer (Abstract 6). The study evaluated the effect of ...
A combination of the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and the DNA repair–blocking agent niraparib (Zejula) can be significantly more effective than either drug alone in women with hard-to-treat ovarian cancer, a phase I/II clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers...
One in five women diagnosed with cervical cancer in the United States will be diagnosed after the age of 65, suggesting that the recommended age to stop cervical cancer screening should be reconsidered, according to research presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 2018 Annual ...
Parents are less likely to vaccinate adolescent boys than girls with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and they are twice as likely to report their main reason as a lack of provider recommendation, according to a study presented at the 2018 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting ...
Patients with ovarian cancer with genetic amplification in the PARP-7 protein survived longer than those without the mutation, according to a presentation at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 2018 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. These results call for researchers to further...
An antibody that is present in the blood of women previously infected with the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia is associated with a doubling in ovarian cancer risk, according to data presented during a media preview for the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual...
On March 13, Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted a new supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) and granted Priority Review for pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the company’s anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy. The application ...