Background: In high-grade ovarian cancer (HGOC), determination of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status is commonly used in routine practice to predict response to platinum-based therapy or poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi). Here we tested the hypothesis that BRCA loss of function (LOF) due to epigenetic or genetic aberrations is a better predictor for the clinical outcome than HRD. One hundred thirty-one HGOC tissues were tested for BRCA DNA-methylation, BRCA mutations, HRD and BRCA1 mRNA expression, followed by a comprehensive survival analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Gynecol Cancer
October 2023
Recent advances in epithelial ovarian cancer research have led to a shift in treatment strategy from the traditional 'organ-centric' to a personalized tumor biology-based approach. Nevertheless, we are still far behind an individualized approach for cytoreductive surgery in advanced ovarian cancer; the gold standard of primary treatment in combination with systemic agents. The impact of tumor biology on treatment sequence is still understudied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The primary objective was to reveal the impact of social media ambassadors and the collaboration between the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) and the OncoAlert Network on Twitter during the ESGO 2022 Congress by comparing it with the ESGO 2021 Congress. We also aimed to share our experience on how to organize a social media ambassador program and evaluate the potential benefits for the society and the ambassadors.
Methods: We defined the impact as promoting the congress, sharing the knowledge, change in follower count, and change in tweet, retweet, and reply counts.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
June 2023
Objective: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) recommendations for cesarean section (ERAC), likely the most common reason for laparotomy in women, were issued in 2018-19. We examined how current perioperative management at cesarean section in Austrian hospitals aligns with ERAS recommendations.
Study Design: We surveyed the 21 largest public obstetric units in Austria for alignment with 20 of the 31 strong ERAS recommendations regarding perioperative maternal care at cesarean section.
Objective: Epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is the deadliest gynecological malignancy worldwide. Blocking angiogenesis with bevacizumab, an antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), shows efficacy in different lines of OC therapy. This study investigates the clinical impact of tumoral expression of angiogenesis-related genes and their association with bevacizumab response in OC in retrospective analysis of three independent cohorts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Front-line maintenance therapy with bevacizumab demonstrates high efficacy and safety in epithelial ovarian cancer, as already shown in large phase III trials; however, the corresponding study populations are often not fully representative of patients in clinical routine. In this Austria-based multicenter study, we aimed to explore the real-world outcomes of bevacizumab use in front-line treatment of ovarian cancer, including patients with comorbidities and poor performance status.
Patients: This study is an open label single arm multicenter noninterventional trial and included patients with newly diagnosed advanced epithelial ovarian cancer, who were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and were candidates for receiving bevacizumab according to the product label.
Background: The opioid agonist D,L-methadone exerts analgesic effects via the mu opioid receptor, encoded by OPRM1 and therefore plays a role in chronic pain management. In preclinical tumor-models D,L-methadone shows apoptotic and chemo-sensitizing effects and was therefore hyped as an off-label "anticancer" drug without substantiation from clinical trials. Its effects in ovarian cancer (OC) are completely unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of postponed screening examinations and lockdown measures on gynecological and breast cancer diagnoses throughout the year 2020 in a gynecological oncological center in Austria.
Methods: Data of 889 patients with either newly diagnosed gynecological or breast cancer between January 2019 and December 2020 were collected. Clinical parameters including symptoms, performance status, comorbidities and referral status were compared in patients, who were newly diagnosed with cancer in the period of the first lockdown from March 2020 to April 2020 and the second lockdown from November 2020 to December 2020 and compared to the same period in 2019.
SMARCA4 and EZH2 are two functional key players of their respective antagonizing chromatin remodeling complexes SWI/SNF and PRC2. EZH2 inhibitory drugs may abrogate pro-oncogenic features of PRC2 and turn the balance to cell differentiation via SWI/SNF activity in cancers. SMARCA4 and EZH2 expression was assessed by RT-PCR in 238 epithelial ovarian cancers (OCs) and put in relation to clinico-pathological parameters and patients' outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: On March 16, 2020, the federal government of Austria declared a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the lockdown, screening examinations and routine checkups have been restricted to prevent the spread of the virus and to increase the hospitals' bed capacity across the country. This resulted in a severe decline of patient referrals to the hospitals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe tumor suppressor miR-34 family is transcriptionally induced by p53. Clinical significance of the various miR-34 family members has not been studied in ovarian cancer. In 228 ovarian cancers and in 19 non-neoplastic fallopian tube samples we analysed miR-34 a/b/c expression in relation to clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThrough the last three decades, the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin remains the standard of care chemotherapy in newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Based on a single trial, first-line maintenance therapy with angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab was approved in Europe and widely applied. In 2018, based on a second trial bevacizumab was approved for first-line maintenance in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOvarian cancer (OC) is a gynaecological malignancy with poor clinical outcome and limited treatment options. The receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK) pathway, activated by RANK ligand (RANKL), critically controls bone metabolism, tumourigenesis and tumour immune responses. Denosumab, a monocloncal RANKL antibody, exerts tumour-suppressive effects in mice and humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to explore the role of NOX4 in the biology of the normal endometrium and endometrial cancer. NOX4 plays a key role in other adenocarcinomas and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes and obesity, which are important risk factors for endometrial cancer. NOX4 expression was assessed in 239 endometrial cancer and 25 normal endometrium samples by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cancer with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as a key mediator. Recently, spermatogenesis-associated protein 2 (SPATA2) was identified as a TNF receptor modulator which is required for TNF-induced inflammation and apoptosis. The available data on TNF-α in ovarian cancer (OC) are inconsistent, and SPATA2 is completely uncharacterized in tumorigenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most promising approaches in oncology, and comprises the activation of the immune system to induce tumor immune surveillance or to reverse the tumor immune escape. Different therapeutic strategies for ovarian carcinoma have evolved over the years. Already 30 years ago, the first clinical studies focused on modulating the tumor cytokine network with special attention to interferon-mediated immune responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are associated with better survival in ovarian cancer (OC) patients due to a better response to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, the impact of the BRCA1/2 mRNA-expression is not well characterized in OC.
Patients And Methods: We investigated BRCA1/2 mRNA-expression in 12 non-neoplastic fallopian tubes and 201 epithelial OCs in relation to their clinical characteristics.