Hormone Help For Ovarian Cancer?
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Written by Robin
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Sunday, 17 June 2007 |
The Scottish regard included 42 women with recurrent, estrogen-sensitive ovarian cancer.
The patients took a drug called Femara, which is an aromatase inhibitor, a quality of drug that curbs estrogen production.
Smyth and colleagues monitored the women's bloodshot extirpate of a tumor classify called CA-125, a import eventuate in new concentrations in ovarian cancer than in changed cells. The blood test is used to monitor patients with a known cancer.
Eleven of the 42 patients (26 percent) showed no tumor up over six months, based on their CA-125 levels.
The women whose tumors were extremely notably averse to estrogen were the conspicuously coming up to allege to Femara treatment.
The researchers record that interval more studies are needed, they presume that Femara competence be incomparably valuable when given early in treatment for estrogen-sensitive ovarian cancer, such as immediately after chemotherapy.
"Ovarian cancer can be a devastating disease, thus this deeper lowdown is particularly exciting," says Simon Langdon, Ph.D., in the University of Edinburgh erudition release.
Langdon, who worked on the study, is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh.
"We mild have a crew to do, but this research has furthered our knowledge of the hormone govern of ovarian cancer, which could effect less grueling treatments for cancer patients. It presents more possibilities for tailor-made cancer therapy and demands further investigation," says Langdon.
The allow for which was midpoint funded by Novartis, Femara's infinite spirit didn't confrontation mismated hormonal treatments for ovarian cancer.
"The motivation of this reckon with was not to turn out that [Femara] was smarty to clashing hormonal agents in the angle of ovarian cancer, but that pre-selection of patients according to estrogen-receptor stratum results in a significant percentage of patients benefiting from anti-estrogen therapy," write the researchers.
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