Research Opens Door To Early Detection, Personalized Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Lgr5 molecule

The Lgr5 molecule has been identified as a biomarker in ovarian stem cells and can be used in the early detection of ovarian cancer.

The primary challenges in the fight against ovarian cancers have been in the realm of detection. Ovarian cancers are typically very difficult to detect early due to there being no early stage diagnostics available. As a result, many patients do not receive a diagnosis until the disease is in its later stages, making is much for difficult to treat.

But as a recent article in Medical Daily reports, new research published in Nature Cell Biology shows new insights into early detection and customized treatments of ovarian cancer. Researchers from A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) have identified a biomarker in ovarian stem cells. It is a molecule called Lgr5 and scientist believe that it can be used in the early detection of ovarian cancers.

These findings may also lead to more customizable treatment. At present, there are over 30 known types of ovarian cancers that affect women, with HG-SOC being the most common of serous ovarian carcinoma. Because of the lack of biomarkers that could lead to early detection, these cancers were often not diagnosed until their later stages, leading to very poor survival rates. Bioinformatic analysis on genomics data has allowed scientists to identify a group of genes and their mutational status. These could be used for the prognosis of HG-SOC as well as the development of custom treatments for patients.

At present, the situation with ovarian cancer is still quite dire with over 20,000 American women expected to receive a diagnosis in 2014 alone. However, scientists are hopeful that these recent breakthroughs with start speeding up to the rate of detection, and allow doctors to devise individualized treatment that addresses the various diverse incarnations of the disease.

Read more at Medical Daily.

Hormone Treatment Options – Bioidentical Hormones

Bioidentical Hormones

Bioidentical Hormones are identical in molecular structure to the hormones naturally occurring in women

A trial completed by the Women’s Health Initiative, otherwise known as the WHI, combined estrogen and progestin—as Prempro—for hormone therapy, with the aim of preventing later life ills.  However, the trial was stopped shortly after it started, in 2002, due to the fact that the hormone users were found to have a higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and blood clots.  This risk was found to be small; however, clinicians decided that even the minimal risk involved was too much to risk continuing the hormone treatment.  As a result, many of those participating in the trial found that the typical treatments involved with menopausal symptoms—such as hot flashes and sleeplessness—returned worse than possibly ever before. While hormone therapy is still considered the best treatment for these symptoms, many women are concerned about possible side effects and, as a result, are seeking alternatives, according to an article recently completed by Harvard Health Publications.

Several alternative choices in treatment are presented in the article.  Often, women pursue such treatments that are referred to as “natural” alternatives.  However, the article cautions that that term can be used loosely.  Technically, Any product whose principal ingredient has an animal, plant, or mineral source can be considered natural.  One example is in the form of the soy plant, which is the source of supplements that some women take to ease menopausal symptoms.  In addition to this, it’s also used to make the estrogen in the FDA-approved hormone drug Estrace.  However, seeking the use of soy plants is a risky endeavor, despite being the “natural path of choice; soy supplements aren’t regulated and haven’t been rigorously tested in humans, making it relatively impossible to know whether they’re safe or effective treatment options.

Another possible alternative discussed is bioidentical hormones.  This treatment plan was prompted by the pursuit of natural treatment options, as bioidentical hormones are identical in molecular structure to the hormones naturally occurring in women.  They are, however, not found naturally; are made, or synthesized, from a plant chemical extracted from yams and soy.  Even knowing this, the process is often referred to as “natural hormone therapy,” as bioidentical hormones act in the body just like the hormones naturally produced and occurring.  Despite the fact that the composite used to produce bioidentical hormones muddles the natural, the treatment is still able to maintain the title, as the body can’t distinguish bioidentical hormones from the ones produced by the ovaries.  The treatment has several benefits, namely allowing the estrogen levels to be monitored more precisely and, therefore, allowing treatment to be individualized accordingly.  However, skeptics alternatively counter this argument, saying that it hardly matters, as no one knows exactly what hormone levels to aim for; therefore, opponents of the treatment believe symptoms, not hormone levels, should be treated and monitored.