A paradigm shift in understanding vulvovaginal melanoma as a distinct tumor type compared with cutaneous melanoma.

Objective: Our goal was to compare molecular and immune profiles of vulvovaginal melanoma (VVM) with cutaneous melanoma (CM) and explore the significance of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) agents on survival.

Methods: Samples from VVM and CM tumors underwent comprehensive molecular and immune profiling. Treatment and survival data were extracted from insurance claims data and OS was calculated from time of ICI treatment to last contact.

A phase III, multicenter, randomized study of olvimulogene nanivacirepvec followed by platinum-doublet chemotherapy and bevacizumab compared with platinum-doublet chemotherapy and bevacizumab in women with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer.

Background: Treatment options for patients with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancers are limited and only marginally effective. The development of novel, more effective therapies addresses a critical unmet medical need. Olvimulogene nanivacirepvec (Olvi-Vec), with its strong immune modulating effect on the tumor microenvironment, may provide re-sensitization to platinum and clinically reverse platinum resistance or refractoriness in platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer.

Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) as a novel target to suppress β-catenin and RAS signaling in epithelial ovarian cancer.

A leading theory for ovarian carcinogenesis proposes that inflammation associated with incessant ovulation is a driver of oncogenesis. Consistent with this theory, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) exert promising chemopreventive activity for ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, toxicity is associated with long-term use of NSAIDs due to their cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitory activity.

The MEMORY Study: MulticentEr study of Minimally invasive surgery versus Open Radical hYsterectomy in the management of early-stage cervical cancer: Survival outcomes.

Objective: The Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) trial found that minimally invasive radical hysterectomy compared to open radical hysterectomy compromised oncologic outcomes and was associated with worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in early-stage cervical carcinoma. We sought to assess oncologic outcomes at multiple centers between minimally invasive (MIS) radical hysterectomy and OPEN radical hysterectomy.

Methods: This is a multi-institutional, retrospective cohort study of patients with 2009 FIGO stage IA1 (with lymphovascular space invasion) to IB1 cervical carcinoma from 1/2007-12/2016.

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) of the uterus: Challenges of pregnancy in determining prognosis and optimal treatment.

Background: Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm that exhibits immunohistochemical evidence of smooth muscle and melanocytic differentiation. We report a case of uterine PEComa in a 21 year-old primigravida, presenting at time of c-section as a small subserosal lesion that expressed soft tan-brown tissue fragments. Microscopically the cells were epithelioid, staining positive for TFE3 and HMB45.

A novel proteomic-based screening method for ovarian cancer using cervicovaginal fluids: A window into the abdomen.

Objective: Our objective is to develop a site-specific proteomic-based screening test for ovarian cancer(OC) using the mucus of the cervix and vagina and evaluate a potential means for home testing.

Methods: Cervicovaginal fluid samples were obtained from ovarian cancer and normal control patients for LC-mass spectrometry(MS) proteomic evaluation. Statistical modeling determined the protein panel with the highest penetrance across ovarian cancer samples.

Not immune to inequity: minority under-representation in immunotherapy trials for breast and gynecologic cancers.

Objective: To describe the participation of minority women in clinical trials using immunologic agents for breast and gynecologic cancers.

Methods: A retrospective review of completed clinical trials involving immunotherapy for breast and gynecologic cancers was performed. Completed trials were examined for data on race, tumor type, and start year.

Associations between DNA Damage and PD-L1 Expression in Ovarian Cancer, a Potential Biomarker for Clinical Response.

Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors are currently under investigation as a potential treatment option for ovarian cancer. Although this therapy has shown promise, its efficacy is highly variable among patients. Evidence suggests that genomic instability influences the expression of PD-L1, but little is known about this relationship in ovarian cancer.

Results of an early safety analysis of a study of the combination of pembrolizumab and pelvic chemoradiation in locally advanced cervical cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are being considered for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) together with standard-of-care pelvic chemoradiation (CRT). However, the safety of the combination and its optimal schedule are unknown. Defining the safety of the combination is a primary objective of a study examining concurrent and sequential schedules.

Minority participation in phase 1 gynecologic oncology clinical trials: Three decades of inequity.

Objectives: It is important to develop effective therapies in minorities to ensure equity in cancer care. Underrepresentation of minorities in early phase trials may cause therapies that are effective only in majority populations. We evaluated minority participation in gynecologic oncology phase 1 clinical trials.

DNA damage measurements within tissue samples with Repair Assisted Damage Detection (RADD).

Exposures to genotoxic carcinogens and reactive species result in strand breaks and a spectrum of covalent modifications to DNA that can induce mutations and contribute to the initiation and progression of cancer. Measurements of DNA damage within tissue or tumor samples can serve as a biomarker for exposures or assess changes in DNA repair capacity relevant in cancer development and treatment. Numerous methods to characterize DNA damage exist.

HPV vaccination, knowledge, and attitudes among young cervical cancer survivors in the Deep South.

Introduction: Although FDA approved for over 10 years, uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has been slow, particularly among states in the Deep South with high cervical cancer incidence and mortality. The purpose of this study was to explore variables associated with cervical cancer among survivors who were age-eligible for the HPV vaccine and to assess HPV vaccination history, barriers, perceptions, and other associated behaviors within this cohort.

Methods: A mixed methods strategy was used for the study, first identifying eligible cervical cancer survivors from our institution and abstracting demographic and clinicopathologic medical record data.

RAD6 promotes DNA repair and stem cell signaling in ovarian cancer and is a promising therapeutic target to prevent and treat acquired chemoresistance.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most deadly gynecological cancer and unlike most other neoplasms, survival rates for OC have not significantly improved in recent decades. We show that RAD6, an ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, is significantly overexpressed in ovarian tumors and its expression increases in response to carboplatin chemotherapy. RAD6 expression correlated strongly with acquired chemoresistance and malignant behavior of OC cells, expression of stem cell genes and poor prognosis of OC patients, suggesting an important role for RAD6 in ovarian tumor progression.

MicroRNAs in gynecological cancers: Small molecules with big implications.

Gynecological cancers (GCs) are often diagnosed at advanced stages, limiting the efficacy of available therapeutic options. Thus, there remains an urgent and unmet need for innovative research for the efficient clinical management of GC patients. Research over past several years has revealed the enormous promise of miRNAs.

Mesothelium expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is associated with an unfavorable prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Background: Mesothelium vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression in the metastatic epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) microenvironment is induced by tumor and mediates tumor cell invasion. VCAM-1 imaging suggests expression during treatment is an indicator of platinum resistance. Here, we assess the potential prognostic significance of mesothelium VCAM-1 expression and prospectively evaluate whether soluble VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1) is a surrogate for mesothelium expression.

Unraveling the etiology of ovarian cancer racial disparity in the deep south: Is it nature or nurture?

Background: Our objective was to evaluate racial treatment and survival disparities in black women with ovarian cancer in the Deep South and to determine how environmental factors / socioeconomic status (SES) influence survival.

Methods: A retrospective study of ovarian cancer patients from 2007 to 2014 was performed. Socioeconomic status (SES) was obtained though U.

A comparison of sentinel lymph node biopsy to lymphadenectomy for endometrial cancer staging (FIRES trial): a multicentre, prospective, cohort study.

Background: Sentinel-lymph-node mapping has been advocated as an alternative staging technique for endometrial cancer. The aim of this study was to measure the sensitivity and negative predictive value of sentinel-lymph-node mapping compared with the gold standard of complete lymphadenectomy in detecting metastatic disease for endometrial cancer.

Methods: In the FIRES multicentre, prospective, cohort study patients with clinical stage 1 endometrial cancer of all histologies and grades undergoing robotic staging were eligible for study inclusion.

Rad6 upregulation promotes stem cell-like characteristics and platinum resistance in ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most deadly cancer in women in the United States and despite advances in surgical and chemotherapeutic treatments survival rates have not significantly improved in decades. The poor prognosis for ovarian cancer patients is largely due to the extremely high (80%) recurrence rate of ovarian cancer and because the recurrent tumors are often resistant to the widely utilized platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs. In this study, expression of Rad6, an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, was found to strongly correlate with ovarian cancer progression.

Minority participation in Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Studies.

Objective: Participation of minority populations in clinical trials is paramount to understanding and overcoming cancer racial disparities. The goal of this project is to evaluate minority participation in published GOG clinical trials.

Methods: GOG publications from 1985 to 2013 were reviewed.

Allyl isothiocyanate induces replication-associated DNA damage response in NSCLC cells and sensitizes to ionizing radiation.

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), a constituent of many cruciferous vegetables exhibits significant anticancer activities in many cancer models. Our studies provide novel insights into AITC-induced anticancer mechanisms in human A549 and H1299 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. AITC exposure induced replication stress in NSCLC cells as evidenced by γH2AX and FANCD2 foci, ATM/ATR-mediated checkpoint responses and S and G2/M cell cycle arrest.

The trend towards minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for endometrial cancer: an ACS-NSQIP evaluation of surgical outcomes.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the surgical trend towards increased MIS in the management of endometrial cancer in regard to improvements in patient outcomes.

Methods: Using the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Project's database, patients who underwent hysterectomy for endometrial cancer from 2006-2010 were identified and categorized into exploratory laparotomy (XLAP) or MIS. Comparative analyses were performed and stratified by year of surgery to evaluate demographics, surgical outcomes, and 30-day surgical morbidity.

ALDH1A1 maintains ovarian cancer stem cell-like properties by altered regulation of cell cycle checkpoint and DNA repair network signaling.

Objective: Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) expressing cells have been characterized as possessing stem cell-like properties. We evaluated ALDH+ ovarian cancer stem cell-like properties and their role in platinum resistance.

Methods: Isogenic ovarian cancer cell lines for platinum sensitivity (A2780) and platinum resistant (A2780/CP70) as well as ascites from ovarian cancer patients were analyzed for ALDH+ by flow cytometry to determine its association to platinum resistance, recurrence and survival.

Validation of a venous thromboembolism risk assessment model in gynecologic oncology.

Objectives: Gynecologic oncology patients undergoing surgery are at an increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). We attempted to validate a VTE risk assessment model in gynecologic oncology patients.

Methods: All gynecologic oncology patients who underwent a laparotomy for the diagnosis or suspicion of gynecologic malignancy from 2004 to 2010 were included.