Ovarian Cancer

Background of Ovarian Cancer

The ovaries, located on both sides of the uterus, produce eggs and are the main source of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. There are several types of ovarian cancer. Cancer that begins in the cells that line the surface of the ovaries (epithelial carcinoma) is the most common type. Ovarian cancer that begins in the egg-producing cells (germ-cell tumors) and cancer that begins in the supportive tissue surrounding the ovaries (stromal tumors) are rare.

Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer (other than skin cancer) in women. It ranks fifth as the cause of cancer death in women. In 2007, about 22,430 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed and 15,280 women will die from the disease. The exact causes of ovarian cancer are unknown. However, studies show that women with a family history, or women over age 60 are at highest risk of ovarian cancer.

Women with mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2, genes that increase risk of developing breast cancer, are also at increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. Other factors increasing the risk include never having had children, or having had breast or colon cancer. Recent studies also have linked fertility drugs, feminine-hygiene powders and hormone-replacement therapy with a slightly increased risk of ovarian cancer. Race also plays a role; Caucasians have a slightly higher risk than African Americans.

Hutchinson Center Ovarian Cancer Research

Overview of Hutchinson Center Ovarian Cancer Research

Ovarian-cancer research at the Hutchinson Center is focused on detecting the disease at its earliest stages, when cure rates are highest, as well as developing effective and safe treatments for women with all stages of the disease. This research is largely carried out through the Pacific Ovarian Cancer Consortium, a community-based, multidisciplinary, research program that involves clinicians, laboratory scientists and public health scientists from eight research and medical institutions in the region. This effort, led by the Hutchinson Center, is funded by the National Cancer Institute and includes screening and clinical trials for with or at high risk of developing ovarian cancer, as well as research to develop new treatment options for women with advanced ovarian cancer.

Early and precise diagnosis of ovarian cancer

Overall, about 45 percent of women with ovarian cancer will survive five or more years. However, among the 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases diagnosed early when the cancer is confined to the ovary, more than 90 percent survive five years. The Hutchinson Center leads several projects aimed at earlier detection of ovarian cancer, which could significantly improve overall survival rates. Projects and recent accomplishments include:

• With research partners at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute, we have found a protein marker in the blood that may allow for more accurate early detection of ovarian cancer. Researchers found that the protein, known as HE4, was more effective at distinguishing true cancers from benign ovarian disease than the only other commercially available test, which detects the presence of a protein called CA125. If the marker performs well in larger studies, HE4 could become a cancer-screening test that reduces the number of needless surgeries performed as a result of false-positive diagnoses.

• In partnership with the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research, the Hutchinson Center leads the Quality Of Life Effects of Ovarian Cancer Risk Education and Screening (QUEST) study, a randomized controlled trial of cancer screening and risk education for women at risk for ovarian cancer due to a family history and other risk factors. The goal of this project is to investigate the quality-of-life effects of (1) an intensive program of ovarian cancer screening including CA-125 and transvaginal sonography (TVS) and (2) group counseling designed to reduce ovarian-cancer-related anxiety through education and psychosocial support.

• In collaboration with the Institute for Systems Biology, Hutchinson Center scientists are identifying genes and proteins that can be used to develop tests to more precisely diagnose the type and extent of an individual patient's ovarian cancer. Such tests will allow doctors to choose the best type of therapy for a patient's condition.

Harnessing the immune system to fight ovarian cancer

Most of us know that our immune systems can fight infections like the common cold and even prevent diseases like polio or measles when strengthened by vaccination. The Hutchinson Center's Nobel-prize winning work on bone-marrow transplantation has also shown that the immune system can also be a powerful weapon against cancer.

Today, we lead a revolutionary new field called immunotherapy dedicated to harnessing the immune system's tumor-fighting power to develop highly effective, less toxic treatments for a multitude of cancers and other life-threatening diseases. Our researchers are currently testing a new immunotherapy we pioneered for advanced melanoma, called adoptive T-cell therapy, in clinical trials with women who have advanced ovarian cancer.

The technique involves extracting rare disease-fighting immune cells called T-cells from patients, expanding the cells to large quantities and infusing them back into patients, where they seek out and destroy tumor cells.

Articles Related to Ovarian Cancer and Ovarian Cancer Information

• Harnessing cancer's inner enemy — UW, Center collaborative study on innate immunity to ovarian-cancer protein paves way for new immune-based therapies for the disease
  
  
• Hutchinson Center and UW join NCI's ovarian-cancer clinical trial
  
  
• SCCA's breast-cancer education and outreach efforts propel patients, high-risk women into survivorship mode
  
  
• Spies lab studies on dendritic cells, primed with MICA protein antibodies
  
  
• Two markers are better than one — Blood-serum proteins in combination may improve detection of early stage, presymptomatic ovarian cancer
  
  
• The promise of early detection — With the launch of a major new research initiative, the Hutchinson Center intends to detect more cancers early and dramatically improve survival rates
  
  
• High scores for new ovarian-cancer test — Potential early detection biomarker, HE4, could reduce the number of needless surgeries resulting from false positive diagnoses of ovarian cancer