Gynecologic Oncology

In a unanimous vote, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee has recommended that the agency give premarket approval to a human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test as first-line screening for cervical cancer.

Three doses of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine was more effective in preventing high-grade cervical abnormalities than other types and more effective in younger women.

A study by Canadian researchers shows that preventive oophorectomy reduces risk of ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer by 80% in women who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology, the report also documented a 77% reduction in all-cause mortality.

In Denmark, researchers found that the risk of atypia, atypia+, and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or 3 (CIN2/3) were significantly reduced among women who received the vaccine.

Ovarian cancer is notorious for its late stage at diagnosis and its poor prognosis. In the absence of good screening tests, salpingectomy is the only form of prophylaxis for this cancer.

Adding a monoclonal antibody (MAb)-bevacizumab-to combination chemotherapy may increase survival in patients with recurrent cervical cancer, according to results of a National Cancer Institute-funded randomized trial. Use of bevacizumab in cervical cancer is experimental; the MAb currently is approved to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer, and glioblastoma.

Two doses of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects against genital warts nearly as well as the standard 3-dose schedule, according to new study findings.

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Women who take aspirin daily may reduce their risk of ovarian cancer by 20%, new research has found. However, this preventive strategy isn't ready for prime time; additional study is needed before clinical recommendations can be made.

New research, led by Connie Trimble, MD, shows that vaccine treatments for women with high-grade cervical dysplasia can trigger an immune response that may induce some lesions to resolve.

The rationale for annual mammography in women aged 40 to 59 years needs to be reassessed in countries where adjuvant therapy for breast cancer is available.

Can you identify the cause of abnormal vaginal bleeding in this middle-aged woman?

New evidence reveals that there may be a benefit to continuing cervical cancer screening beyond age 65 years.

Women whose cervical cancer screening ceased between ages 50 and 64 years were 6 times more likely than women who were screened to have cervical cancer from ages 65 to 83 years.

Conservative surgery for early-stage vulvar cancer had little to no long-term effect on a woman’s sexuality or body image, a small study found.

Diagnosis and treatment of high-grade cervical dysplasia substantially increases the risk of cervical or vaginal cancer at or after age 60 years, a study finds.

A simple blood test using plasma thermogram could serve as an effective new indicator for detecting cervical cancer, including assessment of the cancer’s stage.

A small, preliminary study suggests that measurement of heat changes in blood proteins may have potential in detection and staging of cervical cancer. Published in PLoS One, the report describes what may be a unique plasma thermal profile for different disease stages that could help distinguish them from healthy tissue.

Researchers discovered 13 gene mutations of significance in cervical cancer, including 8 mutations not previously linked to cervical cancer and 2 mutations novel to any type of cancer.

New research shows HAND2 gene methylation may have potential as a biomarker for early endometrial cancer detection and as a predictor of treatment response.

The use of oral contraceptives in women with BRCA1/2 mutations was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

Female providers were twice as likely as their male counterparts to order HPV testing for low-risk women aged 30 to 65 who had normal Pap smear results.

Fertility treatment isn’t linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer, according to a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported study spanning nearly two decades and published in Fertility and Sterility.

An innovative, individualized vaccine that may prolong the remission period of ovarian cancer survivors has been developed. Will it work?