1. Ovarian cancer patients are now living longer than they did in the past, but this is almost certainly owing to better and more aggressive surgery. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center researchers reported that aggressive surgical removal of as much cancer as possible throughout the abdomen in ovarian cancer patients is the best option for most women.

The hallmark of cancer is heterogeneity. Not just many types of cancer (ovarian, breast, lung, colon, etc.), but many subtypes of cancer within a given type. Many types of ovarian cancer. Many types of breast cancer. Many types of lung cancer, etc. The biologies are very different and the response to given drugs is very different.

The hallmark of cancer treatment is heterogeneity. There are currently over 100 FDA approved cancer drugs, with hundreds more in the pipeline. All of these drugs tend to be partially effective, and even then, in only a minority of cases, and often for only a short duration of time.

The single most neglected area of cancer research has been the development of methods and technologies to be "matchmakers" between individual cancer with individual cancer treatment.

The single most neglected area of cancer treatment has been the unwillingness to utilize the matchmaker technologies which have already been developed and proven. These technologies involve cancer cell responses to drug exposure in cell culture systems outside of the patient's body, before they are put into the patient's body.

Posted at 3:35AM on Sep 6th 2006 by Gregory D. Pawelski

2. Aggressive Surgery Best Option For Advanced-stage Ovarian Cancer Patients

The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center researchers reported that aggressive surgical removal of as much cancer as possible throughout the abdomen in ovarian cancer patients is the best option for most women. Results of the study are published in the January 2006 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

This study provides further evidence that surgery to remove as much tumor as possible at the initial operation is the best option for most patients. Previous data demonstrated that some surgeons choose the more cautious route of less surgical intervention, but this results in shorter overall survival.

The team of researchers found that aggressive surgery greatly improves survival rates for patients with the most severe disease spread. They also found similar five-year survival rates in most cases for patients undergoing radical and non-radical surgery, indicating to the researchers that aggressive surgery is not a significant risk factor, but instead aids in survival. In those patients with the highest volume of disease (carcinomatosis), the researchers found that radical surgery greatly improved the five-year survival rates.

Their study showed a significant survival advantage when a more aggressive surgical approach is used, and while surgery is just one part of the treatment for advanced ovarian cancer, it is the one variable gynecologic oncologists treating this disease can most control.

This study's purpose was to estimate the effect of aggressive surgery on overall survival rates for ovarian cancer patients. The main outcome measures were residual disease after tumor reduction surgery, frequency of radical surgical procedures and five-year, disease-specific survival. Radical surgery procedures included diaphragmatic surgery, bowel resection, splenectomy or extensive abdominal peritoneal stripping or resection.

For more information on treatment of ovarian cancer at Mayo Clinic, go to mayoclinic.org/ovarian-cancer.

Posted at 1:47AM on Sep 24th 2006 by Gregory D. Pawelski