Advancing Ovarian Cancer Treatments
Lynda Roman, associate professor in the Keck School, and colleagues from USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and LAC+USC Medical Center participated in a study showing that a high-powered chemotherapy regimen can dramatically improve survival in women with advanced ovarian cancer.
Roman and her USC colleagues provided the chemotherapy regimen to ovarian cancer patients as members of the Gynecologic Oncology Group, a research network supported by the National Cancer Institute. Oncologist Deborah K. Armstrong of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center was lead author on the study.
Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal cancers in women: Fewer than half of the women found to have the cancer survive five years after diagnosis. Any advance to fight the disease is applauded by physicians, patients and caregivers, and this therapy appears to deliver on its promise.
The treatment is intriguing because it features intraperitoneal or IP chemotherapy, the delivery of anticancer drugs directly into the intraperitoneal cavity in the abdomen, where ovarian cancer is most likely to spread or recur.
“We have been using IP therapy for several years at USC, so we have a great deal of experience with it,” Roman said. “We have seen its benefits.”
Standard therapy for advanced ovarian cancer begins with surgery and follows with six to eight courses of intravenous chemotherapy consisting of a platinum drug, such as cisplatin, and a taxane drug, such as paclitaxel.
In this study of 429 women, about half received paclitaxel and cisplatin intravenously. The other half got paclitaxel intravenously, then abdominal infusions of cisplatin and paclitaxel at high doses. In IP chemotherapy, the drug is delivered through a catheter implanted in the abdomen.
Researchers found that, on average, women on combined intravenous and intraperitoneal chemotherapy survived more than 5 1/2 years, while those on intravenous chemotherapy exclusively survived slightly more than four years. The 16-month difference represents a huge boost in survivorship.
Some women however, experienced significant side effects with the IP treatment. “By adjusting the dose and timing of the IP therapy, the side effects can be significantly lessened,” Roman said.
Based on these promising results, the National Cancer Institute has recommended that the therapy be adopted as the preferred method of treatment, a move echoed by several women’s health organizations.
Roman and her colleagues continue to offer the treatment at USC/Norris and LAC+USC.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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