Publications by authors named "Carolyn D Runowicz"

Purpose: Menopausal hormone therapy's influence on ovarian and endometrial cancers remains unsettled. Therefore, we assessed the long-term influence of conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and CEE-alone on ovarian and endometrial cancer incidence and mortality in the Women's Health Initiative randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials.

Materials And Methods: Postmenopausal women, age 50-79 years, were entered on two randomized clinical trials evaluating different menopausal hormone therapy regimens.

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Introduction Ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related mortality in US women. There are survival disparities between non-Hispanic black (NHB) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) women. We assessed if insurance status or extent of disease modified the effect of race/ethnicity on survival for ovarian cancer.

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Article Synopsis
  • A systematic review analyzed 60 studies to assess the safety and efficacy of dosing strategies for obese cancer patients, concluding that they can tolerate full doses just like non-obese patients.
  • The recommendations include using full weight-based doses for chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies in obese patients while suggesting that dose adjustments for side effects should be similar to those for non-obese patients; further research on body composition effects is also encouraged.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), uses two primary receptors, type II transmembrane serine protease and angiotensin-converting enzyme-2, for priming and cellular invasion, respectively. Both proteins have been demonstrated to be present in different concentrations in females and males, which may explain a mechanism for the reported higher case-fatality rate in males. Despite the known sex difference in COVID-19 disease mortality, preliminary data suggest there are certain female populations, including pregnant and menopausal women and possibly polycystic ovarian syndrome patients who are more susceptible to COVID-19-related morbidity.

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Purpose: To update the ASCO guideline on pharmacologic interventions for breast cancer risk reduction and provide guidance on clinical issues that arise when deciding to use endocrine therapy for breast cancer risk reduction.

Methods: An Expert Panel conducted targeted systematic literature reviews to identify new studies.

Results: A randomized clinical trial that evaluated the use of anastrozole for reduction of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers in postmenopausal women at increased risk of developing breast cancer provided the predominant basis for the update.

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In 2018, there will be approximately 22,240 new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed and 14,070 ovarian cancer deaths in the United States. Herein, the American Cancer Society provides an overview of ovarian cancer occurrence based on incidence data from nationwide population-based cancer registries and mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The status of early detection strategies is also reviewed.

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The purpose of the American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline is to provide recommendations to assist primary care and other clinicians in the care of female adult survivors of breast cancer. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed through April 2015. A multidisciplinary expert workgroup with expertise in primary care, gynecology, surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and nursing was formed and tasked with drafting the Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline.

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Answer questions and earn CME/CNE The purpose of the American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline is to provide recommendations to assist primary care and other clinicians in the care of female adult survivors of breast cancer. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed through April 2015. A multidisciplinary expert workgroup with expertise in primary care, gynecology, surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and nursing was formed and tasked with drafting the Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline.

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Purpose: To provide recommendations for appropriate cytotoxic chemotherapy dosing for obese adult patients with cancer.

Methods: The American Society of Clinical Oncology convened a Panel of experts in medical and gynecologic oncology, clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics, and biostatistics and a patient representative. MEDLINE searches identified studies published in English between 1996 and 2010, and a systematic review of the literature was conducted.

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One in 1000 pregnancies is complicated with cancer with the most common tumors being breast cancer, cervical cancer, thyroid, leukemia, lymphoma, and ovarian cancer. It is often assumed that cancer during pregnancy necessitates sacrificing the well-being of the fetus but in most cases appropriate treatment can be offered to the mother without placing the fetus at serious risk. The care of a pregnant woman with cancer involves evaluation of competing maternal and fetal risks and benefits.

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Objective: This study reports the gynecologic conditions in postmenopausal women (intact uterus on enrollment) in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) study of tamoxifen and raloxifene (STAR)/P-2 trial.

Study Design: This study, with a median follow-up period of 81 months, evaluated the incidence rates/risks of gynecologic conditions among women who were treated with tamoxifen and raloxifene.

Results: Compared with women who received tamoxifen therapy, women who received raloxifene therapy had a lower incidence of uterine cancer (relative risk, 0.

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Introduction: Emerging research suggests a substantially greater prevalence of the adverse triple-negative (TN) subtype (human epidermal growth factor receptor [HER]2(-), estrogen receptor [ER](-), and progesterone receptor [PR])(-)) among black patients with breast cancer. No reports however have been generated from a statewide cancer registry.

Patients And Methods: The study consisted of all black patients (N = 643) and a random sample of white patients (n = 719) diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer (2000-2003) listed in the National Cancer Institute-Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (NCI-SEER) Connecticut Tumor Registry (CTR).

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Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of canfosfamide in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (OC).

Methods: Patients with platinum-refractory or -resistant (primary or secondary) OC were randomized to receive canfosfamide at 1000 mg/m² and PLD at 50 mg/m² intravenously or PLD alone at 50 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 every 28 days until tumor progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS).

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Background: The purpose of this study was to determine whether adding the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib to carboplatin/paclitaxel improved pathologic complete response (pCR) at reassessment surgery in epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancers (OFPC).

Methods: Patients with stage III-IV OFPC initiated treatment within 12 weeks of initial cytoreductive surgery or, after histologic confirmation of diagnosis, neoadjuvantly. Treatment included paclitaxel (175 mg/m²) and carboplatin (AUC 6) every 3 weeks for up to 6 cycles, plus oral erlotinib 150 mg daily.

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Anecdotal information regarding clinical research sites limiting participation in NCI-funded cooperative group studies prompted ASCO to collect data on and investigate the reasons behind this trend.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to establish the gynecological effects of 5 years of treatment with lasofoxifene versus placebo in postmenopausal osteoporotic women.

Methods: A total of 8,556 women aged 59 to 80 years with femoral neck or spine bone mineral density T scores of -2.5 or lower were randomized to receive lasofoxifene 0.

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The selective estrogen-receptor modulator (SERM) tamoxifen became the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved agent for reducing breast cancer risk but did not gain wide acceptance for prevention, largely because it increased endometrial cancer and thromboembolic events.

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Objective: Survival in women with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer remains poor. More effective and less toxic regimens are needed. Cisplatin is an effective radiosensitizer, but its single agent activity in recurrent cervical cancer, especially after prior cisplatin exposure, is disappointing, with a response rate of only 13%.

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One of the most challenging issues in gynecologic oncology is the high mortality rate of ovarian cancer, largely due to detection of disease in advanced stages. Women with early-stage disease have a significantly improved survival rate and may not require chemotherapy. Thus, the issues to examine are whether there are methods to improve early detection, thereby resulting in a reduction in mortality.

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Purpose: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Cancer Research Committee designed a qualitative research project to assess the attitudes of cancer researchers and compliance officials regarding compliance with the US Privacy Rule and to identify potential strategies for eliminating perceived or real barriers to achieving compliance.

Methods: A team of three interviewers asked 27 individuals (13 investigators and 14 compliance officials) from 13 institutions to describe the anticipated approach of their institutions to Privacy Rule compliance in three hypothetical research studies.

Results: The interviews revealed that although researchers and compliance officials share the view that patients' cancer diagnoses should enjoy a high level of privacy protection, there are significant tensions between the two groups related to the proper standards for compliance necessary to protect patients.

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With our understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, the availability of HPV testing, and the known limitations of cervical cytology, it is time to reassess cervical cancer screening technologies. This article reviews recent randomized trials comparing primary HPV testing with cervical cytology in screening for cervical cancer, and also analyzes the impact of the HPV vaccine on screening cytology.

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Based on the poor 5-year survival rates for advanced ovarian cancer, novel therapies are needed. Because ovarian cancer largely is confined to the peritoneal cavity for much of its natural history, the intraperitoneal administration of chemotherapy is a biologically rationale and novel approach to the delivery of chemotherapy. Interest in intraperitoneal therapy as first-line therapy has been rekindled by three large randomized clinical trials, which have demonstrated improved median overall survival rates.

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