Webinar: What Women Need to Know about Ovarian Cancer

Tue, May 12, 2015
12:00pm to 1:00pm ET

Description

Mayo Clinic gynecologic cancer specialists Jamie N. Bakkum-Gamez, M.D. and John Weroha, M.D., Ph.D. discuss the signs and symptoms women should be aware of for detection of ovarian cancer, understanding treatment options, and the importance of new clinical trials. Mayo Clinic medical geneticist Myra J. Wick, M.D., Ph.D. discusses the importance of family history and genetic counseling in preventing ovarian cancer. A live question and answer session followed the presentation. You can still ask questions using the chat box to the right. Speakers include: - Jamie N. Bakkum-Gamez, M.D. - John Weroha, M.D., Ph.D. - Myra J. Wick, M.D., Ph.D. Would you like to: Request An Appointment Learn More About Ovarian Cancer

Location

Online
@lmauroorlandino

Can you talk about vaccine clinical trials.

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At Mayo there is currently a vaccine trial open (MC1361; clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02111941) for women who have completed radical surgery, chemotherapy and have no evidence of active cancer. For more details, please visit: http://www.mayo.edu/research/clinical-trials/cls-20110798).

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@andersonrau

Signs / symptoms are not real specific and can easily be related to many other diagnoses... I've been experiencing both bloating and urgency/frequency in urination for quite some time... when I go in for my dr appoint - do I offer this up as something to be considered?

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Yes. Ovarian cancer symptoms can be vague even in advanced disease. Let your doctor know about your concerns.

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@lsudoublep

My mother was just diagnosed with a second recurrence, however is relatively asymptomatic (small nodule growth in mesenteric fat area)....we have been told that a hormonal therapy option might be a way to keep it stable for a bit (to delay going on chemo again)...have you used this before and if so, do you favor tamoxifen or femara?

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Your oncologist has probably pointed out that hormonal therapies as single-agents have limited activity. I typically do not use these drugs in ovarian cancer. That said, I agree with the philosophy that we should not let the treatment be worse than the disease. If there are no symptoms, there is no rush to start chemotherapy. Tamoxifen or femara treatments are generally well tolerated and if cost isn’t an issue, you might prefer this treatment over watchful-waiting.
If your mother is able to travel and is interested in a trial, we are combining letrozole (hormone blocker) with everolimus (a drug that we hope will prevent resistance to letrozole) in ovarian cancer patients who have ER-positive tumors. More information is available at
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT02283658

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@peggycampbell327

Do men get the BRCA 1/2 genetic testing if their mother had ovarian cancer but she did not have genetic testing?

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Yes. However, testing is most informative when done on an affected family member. There may be difficulties with insurance coverage in this situation.

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@shirleyahweb

I had my surgery at Mayo Rochester within the last year. Stage IIIC. Were my cells preserved so I am eligible for the Avatar study...or is it too late entirely?

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If you enrolled in Mayo’s tissue/blood repository for ovarian cancer when you had your surgery, a portion of your tumor was retained for research purposes. The contact person and phone number for more information is on your informed consent form. You can also contact the study coordinator through Mayo’s Cancer Center Clinical Trial Office at 855-776-0015 (toll-free) or at http://www.mayo.edu/research/clinical-trials.

If you signed consent in 2014 or 2015, we are working hard to include as many patients as possible. If everything works out as I hope, someone may contact you about the Ovatar trial if certain criteria are met.

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@lisa1961

Are there other clinical studies available if surgery was done elsewhere? Or could 2nd surgery qualify for Avatar?

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There are several clinical studies available for women with ovarian cancer. For a list of available trials at Mayo Clinic and more details on eligibility criteria, please see: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ovarian-cancer/care-at-mayo-clinic/clinical-trials/con-20028096.
There is a clinical trial open at Mayo (MC1464; clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02283658) for women with recurrent ovarian cancer. This is a phase II study in which women with hormone receptor positive ovarian cancer are treated with everolimus and letrozole. As part of the study, an Avatar is made. The Avatar in this study is not used to predict response to other chemotherapies; it is used to better understand the response of the woman’s cancer to the study drugs—everolimus and letrozole. More details on this study can be found at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02283658?term=MC1464&rank=1.

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@jenarymcgee

I'm BRCA 1 and 2 negative (and for Lynch Syndrome mutations), but my family history of ovarian cancer is very extensive with earliest onset at age 39. Is Mayo Clinic - or are other organizations you're aware of - doing any research into additional genetic mutations? And how far away do you think we realistically are from having an "OVCA" type genetic test?

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You may consider clinical cancer panel testing, which is available through some commercial laboratories. There are also researchers at Mayo studying other genes and mutations in those genes. Results of research studies are often not returned to the patients.

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@lorirand

My mother had stage 4 ovarian cancer. My PCP is recommending that I have salpingo-oophorectomy since I am postmenopausal. She does not want to do genetic testing as she says is it unrealiable. Is this what you could recommend?

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Recommend consultation with genetics professional to review family history review your risk.

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@sharonwaters221

Is there a diet (certain foods) I should follow to help reduce risk of ovarian cancer?

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Dietary risk factors have not been identified for ovarian cancer.

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@djsetzer

My paternal grandmother and several paternal great aunts died of breast cancer (no genetic testing). My mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 70. She is still living but has not had genetic testing. Should I have the testing since the breast cancer comes from my father's side? Or should my father have the testing?

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There is risk from both sides of the family. Are any of the paternal aunts available for testing? Testing of an affected paternal aunt would be most informative for assessing paternal side of the family. Also recommend that your mother have BRCA1/2 testing, since she has a personal history of ovarian cancer.

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