Long-term outcomes of R-CEOP show curative potential in patients with DLBCL and a contraindication to anthracyclines.

Doxorubicin plays an integral role in the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) but can be associated with significant toxicity. Treatment guidelines of British Columbia (BC) Cancer recommend the substitution of etoposide for doxorubicin in standard-dose R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) (R-CEOP) for patients who have a contraindication to anthracyclines; however, it is unknown if this compromises treatment outcome. We identified all patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL who were treated in BC with curative intent with R-CEOP (n = 70) within the study period.

Adjuvant Treatment of Early Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma: A Population-Based Study of Whole Abdominal Versus Pelvic Nodal Radiotherapy.

Background: Adjuvant treatment in early ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is not yet standardized. The objective of this population-based study was to compare the outcome of patients with early OCCC treated with adjuvant chemotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy (chemoRT) and evaluate the association of adjuvant radiotherapy regimens (whole abdominal radiotherapy [WART] versus pelvic nodal radiotherapy [PRT]) with outcome.

Patients And Methods: Chart review was conducted to identify patients with stage I and II OCCC with complete information on staging.

Low junctional adhesion molecule-A expression is associated with an epithelial to mesenchymal transition and poorer outcomes in high-grade serous carcinoma of uterine adnexa.

High-grade serous carcinoma of uterine adnexa (HGSC) is the most frequent histotype of epithelial ovarian cancer and has a poor 5-year survival rate due to late-stage diagnosis and the poor efficacy of standard treatments. Novel biomarkers of cancer outcome are needed to identify new targetable pathways and improve personalized treatments. Cell-surface screening of 26 HGSC cell lines by high-throughput flow cytometry identified junctional adhesion molecule 1 (JAM-A, also known as F11R) as a potential biomarker.

Canadian cost-effectiveness model of BRCA-driven surgical prevention of breast/ovarian cancers compared to treatment if cancer develops.

Objectives: To assess the cost effectiveness from a Canadian perspective of index patient germline BRCA testing and then, if positive, family members with subsequent risk-reducing surgery (RRS) in as yet unaffected mutation carriers compared with no testing and treatment of cancer when it develops.

Methods: A patient level simulation was developed comparing outcomes between two groups using Canadian data. Group 1: no mutation testing with treatment if cancer developed.

Single or two drug combination therapy as initial treatment for low risk, gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. A Canadian analysis.

Introduction: Low risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, WHO prognostic score of 0 to 6, is highly curable. There is no consensus on the optimal chemotherapy. Common regimens are q2wk actinomycin-D (ACT-D), weekly intramuscular methotrexate (MTX) or multi-day MTX.

Low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC): A Canadian multicenter review of practice patterns and patient outcomes.

Objective: Patients with advanced low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC) have poor long-term survival rates. As a rare histotype, there are uncertainties regarding the use of current therapies. Thus, we studied practice patterns and treatment outcomes as part of a national initiative to better understand and improve the care of women with advanced LGSC.

Niraparib in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Advanced Ovarian Cancer.

Background: Niraparib, an inhibitor of poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP), has been associated with significantly increased progression-free survival among patients with recurrent ovarian cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of the presence or absence of mutations. The efficacy of niraparib in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer after a response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy is unknown.

Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer in a 2:1 ratio to receive niraparib or placebo once daily after a response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Targeted surgical prevention of epithelial ovarian cancer is cost effective and saves money in BRCA mutation carrying family members of women with epithelial ovarian cancer. A Canadian model.

Objective: Survival but not cure rates have improved for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), demonstrating the need for effective prevention. Targeted prevention in BRCA carriers by risk reducing surgery (RRS) prevents 80% of cases but incurs additional up-front costs, compensated for by the potential for long term savings from treatment avoidance. Does prevention represent value for money? In the absence of long-term data from prospective trials, determining the cost effectiveness of a prevention strategy requires economic modelling.

Evolution of genetic assessment for BRCA-associated gynaecologic malignancies: a Canadian multisociety roadmap.

The landscape of genetic testing in ovarian cancer patients has changed dramatically in recent years. The therapeutic benefits of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors in treatment of -related ovarian cancers has resulted in an increased demand and urgency for genetic testing results, while technological developments have led to widespread use of multi-gene cancer panels and development of tumour testing protocols. Traditional genetic counselling models are no longer sustainable and must evolve to match the rapid evolution of genetic testing technologies and developments in personalized medicine.

Survival Benefit of Adjuvant Radiotherapy: An Analysis of Low-Stage Invasive Ovarian Mucinous Carcinomas.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the population-based outcomes of stages I and II invasive ovarian mucinous carcinomas (MCs) treated with adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy and abdominopelvic radiotherapy (XRT).

Methods: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I/II MC cases referred to the British Columbia Cancer Agency between 1984 and 2014 were reviewed. Chemotherapy (minimum of 3 cycles) and XRT were the institutional policy for stages IA/B (grade 2/3) and IC/II (any grade).

Missed therapeutic and prevention opportunities in women with BRCA-mutated epithelial ovarian cancer and their families due to low referral rates for genetic counseling and BRCA testing: A review of the literature.

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE Fifteen percent of women with epithelial ovarian cancer have inherited mutations in the BRCA breast cancer susceptibility genes. Knowledge of her BRCA status has value both for the woman and for her family. A therapeutic benefit exists for the woman with cancer, because a new family of oral drugs, the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, has recently been approved, and these drugs have the greatest efficacy in women who carry the mutation.

Gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin (GDP) is an effective and well-tolerated salvage therapy for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma.

The optimal choice of salvage therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) or Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) remains unknown. Based on promising results of phase II trials, the preferred salvage regimen in British Columbia since 2002 has been the out-patient regimen, gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin (GDP). We conducted a retrospective analysis including all patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL or HL who received GDP as salvage therapy between September 2002 and June 2010.

Chemotherapy is of Value in Second Line and Beyond, Relapsed High-grade, Serous Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: An Analysis of Outcomes Obtained With Oral Etoposide.

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer is chemotherapy responsive, and multiple lines of chemotherapy are often given. However, there are few data with regard to its effectiveness in later lines. Our aim was to assess its benefit in the high-grade, serous subtype relative to the line of therapy, using etoposide as the example.

Randomized study of sequential cisplatin-topotecan/carboplatin-paclitaxel versus carboplatin-paclitaxel: effects on quality of life.

Background: A recent phase III trial compared the efficacy of cisplatin-topotecan (a topoisomerase I inhibitor) followed by carboplatin-paclitaxel (Arm 1) versus paclitaxel-carboplatin (Arm 2) in women with newly diagnosed stage IIB or greater ovarian cancer. There was a significantly lower response rate in the experimental arm compared to standard treatment, and less likelihood of normalized CA125 within the first 3 months. At 43 months follow-up, there were no significant group differences in progression-free survival.

Early-stage endometrioid ovarian carcinoma: population-based outcomes in British Columbia.

Objective: Specific outcomes for early-stage ovarian endometrioid carcinoma (OEC) have not been well characterized. In addition, the benefit of any type of postsurgical therapy remains unclear. Our aims were to delineate (1) potential prognostic factors and (2) the impact of adjuvant treatment on survival in such patients.

Population-based treatment and outcomes of Stage I uterine serous carcinoma.

Objective: Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is a rare type of endometrial cancer that often recurs in patients with Stage I disease. Our objective was to evaluate treatment and outcomes in Stage I USC in the context of a population-based study.

Methods: This was a population-based retrospective cohort study of all patients with Stage I USC in British Columbia, Canada from 2004 to 2012.

The importance of adjuvant chemotherapy and pelvic radiotherapy in high-risk early stage endometrial carcinoma.

Objective: To determine the impact of a policy change in which women with high-risk early stage endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) received adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Methods: This is a population-based retrospective cohort study of British Columbia Cancer Registry patients diagnosed from 2008 to 2012 with high-risk early stage EEC, who received adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after primary surgery. High-risk early stage was defined as the presence of two or more high-risk uterine factors: grade 3 tumor, more than 50% myometrial invasion, and/or cervical stromal involvement.

Preoperative radiotherapy for inoperable stage II endometrial cancer: insights into improving treatment and outcomes.

Objective: To review recurrence patterns and survival outcomes of women receiving preoperative radiotherapy for clinical stage II endometrial cancer in British Columbia.

Methods: We performed a retrospective population-based cohort study of all patients with clinical stage II endometrial cancer who were referred to the British Columbia Cancer Agency from 2000 to 2008, deemed ineligible for primary surgery, and therefore offered preoperative radiotherapy followed by surgery. Patient demographics, uterine risk factors, timing and details of treatments, and timing and sites of recurrence were obtained from patient records.

Dalteparin low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in ovarian cancer: a phase II randomized study.

Objective: Low molecular weight heparin reduces the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and may have antineoplastic effects by interfering with angiogenesis and with tumor growth and metastasis. A multicentre phase II randomized trial was done to evaluate the antineoplastic potential of dalteparin in ovarian cancer (OC).

Materials And Methods: Women with newly-diagnosed epithelial OC were randomized to receive standard chemotherapy (CT) and one of 3 doses of dalteparin (50 IU/kg, 100 IU/kg, or 150 IU/kg) subcutaneously once daily during the first 3 of 6 cycles of 3-weekly CT.

The role of the fallopian tube in ovarian cancer.

High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most common and lethal subtype of ovarian cancer. Research over the past decade has strongly suggested that "ovarian" HGSC arises in the epithelium of the distal fallopian tube, with serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs) being detected in 5-10% of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers undergoing risk-reducing surgery and up to 60% of unselected women with pelvic HGSC. The natural history, clinical significance, and prevalence of STICs in the general population (ie, women without cancer and not at an increased genetic risk) are incompletely understood, but anecdotal evidence suggests that these lesions have the ability to shed cells with metastatic potential into the peritoneal cavity very early on.