Compounds Detected in Breath Samples Specific to Ovarian Cancer

Diagnosing cancer today usually involves various imaging techniques, examining tissue samples under a microscope, or testing cells for proteins or genetic material. 

In search of safer and less invasive ways to tell if someone has cancer, analyzing breath and defining specific profiles of compounds in breath samples is under investigation, but translating these exhaled disease fingerprints into a meaningful diagnosis has required a large number of sensors, which makes them impractical for clinical use.

Read more: Compounds Detected in Breath Samples Specific to Ovarian Cancer

Schematic representation of analysis of breath samples for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer

Source: clinchemlabmedica

'Breast Cancer Gene' BRCA1 Linked to Aggressive Uterine Cancer

Mutations in women's BRCA genes, which are linked to both breast cancer and ovarian cancer, may also increase their risk of developing a particularly deadly form of uterine cancer, a new study finds.

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are sometimes referred to as the "breast cancer genes" because women who have a mutation in one or both of these genes face a much greater risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer than women without mutations in these genes.

But previous studies have also suggested that women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation may also be more likely to develop a type of uterine cancer called uterine serous carcinoma, said Dr. Noah Kauff, director of clinical cancer genetics at the Duke Cancer Institute in North Carolina and the senior author of the new study.

Read more: 'Breast Cancer Gene' BRCA1 Linked to Aggressive Uterine Cancer

SebastianKaulitzki | Shutterstock

Source: livescience

Breast Cancer: Existing Drug Shows Promise for Prevention in High-Risk Women

Researchers have identified an existing drug that they say has the potential to prevent or delay breast cancer for women at high risk of developing the disease.

In a study published the journal Nature Medicine, researchers reveal how the drug denosumab halted the growth of pre-cancerous cells in breast tissue of women with a faulty BRCA1 gene.

Women with a BRCA1 gene mutation are at significantly greater risk for breast and ovarian cancers; around 55-65 percent of women with such a mutation will develop the disease by the age of 70, according to the National Cancer Institute, compared with 12 percent of those in the general population.

Read more:  Breast Cancer: Existing Drug Shows Promise for Prevention in High-Risk Women

Researchers found the drug denosumab stopped the growth of cells that are a precursor to breast cancer
in women with a BRCA1 gene mutation.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Ovarian Cancer: New Imaging Technique Helps Surgeons Remove More of Tumor.

The amount of tumor tissue that is left after surgery is an important factor in ovarian cancer patient survival. Currently, surgeons have to rely on their eyes and hands to find malignant tissue. Now, new research shows how an imaging technique using a new type of fluorescent compound helped surgeons detect and remove nearly 30 percent more ovarian tumor tissue than usual.

The new technique was tested in a small exploratory study led by Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands and published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

One of the study leaders, Dr. Alexander L. Vahrmeijer, who heads an image-guided surgery group at LUMC, says:

"Surgery is the most important treatment for ovarian cancer, and surgeons mainly have to rely on their naked eyes to identify tumor tissue, which is not optimal."

Read more: Ovarian Cancer: New Imaging Technique Helps Surgeons Remove More of Tumor.

The experimental study shows that the new imaging system helped surgeons remove more tumor
issue in patients with ovarian cancer.

Source: medicalnewstoday

New gene testing method can identify mutations, prioritize variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes

A research team led by an award-winning genomicist at Western University has developed a new method for identifying mutations and prioritizing variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes, which will not only reduce the number of possible variants for doctors to investigate, but also increase the number of patients that are properly diagnosed.

These potentially game-changing technologies, developed by Peter Rogan, PhD, students and his collaborators from Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, reveal gene variants that were missed by conventional genetic testing.

Their method, described in BMC Medical Genomics, was first applied to 102 individuals at risk or with a diagnosis of inherited breast cancer. The team also studied 287 women with no known mutations for an article published in Human Mutation.

Rogan, Canada Research Chair in Genome Bioinformatics, says that 16 to 20 per cent of women in southwestern Ontario, who have their BRCA genes tested for breast and/or ovarian cancer risk, carry disease-causing gene variants that are well-understood by clinicians and genetic counselors. If a patient tests positive for an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene and have never had breast cancer, there is a much higher-than-average risk of developing the deadly disease.

Read more: New gene testing method can identify mutations, prioritize variants in breast and ovarian cancer genes

Source: azonano

Irregular periods could enhance risk of ovarian cancer

Young women with irregular menstrual periods may be at higher risk of developing—and dying from—ovarian cancer later in life, researchers found in a 50-year study of California women. The new research provides the first evidence linking abnormally long cycles or missed periods to higher ovarian cancer risk. It also challenges a longstanding hypothesis that such risk rises progressively with a woman’s total number of ovulations.

Having fewer ovulatory cycles is widely viewed as a protective factor against ovarian cancer. It’s the reason that hormonal birth control pills, pregnancy, and tubal ligations—which stop ovulation—have been thought to reduce risk for that disease. “This study is certainly curious, because it contradicts what we thought we knew about ovarian cancer and incessant ovulation,” says Mitchell Maiman, an OB/GYN at Staten Island University Hospital in New York.

Although ovarian cancer accounts for just 3% of all cancers in women, it’s the leading cause of gynecological cancer deaths. Less than half of all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer survive more than 5 years. Early symptoms, including abdominal discomfort and bloating, often go unnoticed or are misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. Because there are no routine screening tests and few markers to identify groups with increased risk of ovarian cancers, most cases are found when they are beyond the point of curing. Age is one risk factor—more than half of all ovarian cancers are diagnosed in women over the age of 63. Heredity is another—10% to 15% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer have one or more known genetic risk factors.

Read more: Irregular periods could enhance risk of ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women

Source: SciePro/Science Source