Vignette-Based Study of Ovarian Cancer Screening: Do U.S. Physicians Report Adhering to Evidence-Based Recommendations? Using case vignettes, researchers surveyed primary care physicians about ovarian cancer screening beliefs and practices. One in 3 physicians believed that ovarian cancer screening with ultrasonography or cancer antigen 125 was effective. Substantial proportions of physicians indicated that they would offer ovarian cancer screening to low-risk (6.3%) and medium-risk (24%) women. These data suggest that some physicians may screen women for ovarian cancer despite the lack of evidence of net benefit to patients, which potentially leads to patient harm and unnecessary use of health care resources. Source: Annals of Internal Medicine, February 7, 2012 156:182-194
QoL in survivors
Prospective assessment of quality of life in long-term ovarian cancer survivors Although ovarian cancer patients do not belong to the most prevalent survivor populations, we found that long-term survivors have QoL scores similar to females without a history of cancer. International Journal of Cancer. 2011 Jun 15;128(12):3005-11
YouTube talks ovarian cancer
CPOP Talk, Spring 2011 * On behalf of Ovarian Cancer Canada, Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden recently
gave a teleconference talk to update listeners on new research findings.
Dr. Vanderhyden is a researcher at the Ottawa Hospital Research
Institute and Corinne Boyer chair in ovarian cancer research. OCC has
posted the presentation in 10 to 15-minute segments on its YouTube channel. URL:
www.youtube.com/ovariancancercanada
Where is everyone?
The perils of a vanishing cohort: a study of social comparisons by women with advanced ovarian cancer Participants expressed a preference for avoiding contact with ovarian cancer patients, for the company of 'normal' others, for normalising information and information that facilitated upward identifications...We suggest that social comparisons made by women with ovarian cancer are influenced by specific clinical factors associated with their diagnosis-in particular, their status as a member of a 'vanishing cohort'-and argue for further research examining the specific comparison needs and preferences of patients with advanced disease and types of cancer with poor prognoses. Psychooncology. 2011 Feb 4
Measuring quality of life
Quality of life in ovarian cancer Evaluation of quality of life and functional impairment can include consideration of several issues such as the effects of the disease and its treatments on symptomatology, systemic therapy effects, the balance between life-prolonging but toxic protocols, and the sexual, psychosocial, social, and financial effects of treatment. The Gynecologic Oncology Group is actively studying these issues in its protocols...HRQOL [health-realted quality of life] evaluation is a valuable measure in optimizing care of patients with ovarian cancer, but more research is needed to make such evaluations sufficiently inexpensive and easy to perform so that they can be more fully incorporated into general oncologic practice. Cancer Control. 2011 Jan;18(1):52-8
Research headlines
Social isolation is associated with elevated tumor norepinephrine in ovarian carcinoma patients Brain Behavior and Immunity. 2011 Feb; 25(2):250-5
