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A study provides new insight into the complex interactions of the "tumor-immune-gut axis," and its role in influencing immunotherapy responses in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. The findings emphasize the role of the patient's microbiome—the collection of microorganisms in the body—and lay the groundwork for future clinical trials aimed at improving treatment outcomes. That goal is critical, because epithelial ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer and primary peritoneal cancer—all categorized under the umbrella of ovarian cancer—are the deadliest gynecological malignancies, with a five-year survival rate of less than 50%. Most deaths occur as a result of disease that is refractory, or...

Nan Zhang, Ph.D., and colleagues have discovered a new approach to treating ovarian cancer, that in preclinical laboratory testing, shrinks tumors and improves survival rates while simultaneously making tumors more receptive to chemotherapy treatment. The danger of metastasis (when cancer spreads throughout the body) is exacerbated in ovarian cancer for two main reasons: —-Ovarian cancer is naturally resistant to chemotherapy, so its presence anywhere is difficult to combat. —-Ovarian cancer tends to metastasize through peritoneal fluid into the peritoneal cavity, which is the larger space in the body that houses the stomach and intestines. Cancer in the peritoneal cavity is...

Abstract Relevance: Ivermectin, as an old anti-parasite drug, can suppress almost completely the growth of various human cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC). However, its anticancer mechanism remained to be further studied at the molecular levels. Ivermectin-related molecule-panel changes will serve a useful tool for its personalized drug therapy and prognostic assessment in OCs. Purpose: To explore the functional significance of ivermectin-mediated lncRNA-EIF4A3-mRNA axes in OCs and ivermectin-related molecule-panel for its personalized drug therapy monitoring. Methods: Based on our previous study, a total of 16 lncRNA expression patterns were analyzed using qRT-PCR before and after ivermectin-treated different OC cell lines (TOV-21G...

A team of researchers led by the UAB has found the first ancient remains of a calcified ovarian teratoma, in the pelvis of the skeleton of a woman from the Roman era. The find confirms the presence in antiquity of this type of tumour -- formed by the remains of tissues or organs, which are difficult to locate during the examination of ancient remains. Inside the small round mass, four teeth and a small piece of bone were found. Teratomas are usually benign and contain remains of organic material, such as hair, teeth, bones and other tissues. There are no...

Ultra-fast freezing of ovarian tissue from women who have lost their fertility as a result of cancer treatment can lead to it being used in transplants with the same success rate as fresh tissue, a researcher told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 29 June. Dr. Sherman Silber, Director of the St. Louis Infertility Centre, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, said that freezing tissue by the vitrification method, which avoids ice formation, meant that oocyte (egg) viability was almost identical with that seen in fresh oocytes. Dr. Silber and colleagues used standard viability testing...

WASHINGTON: Scientists have grown a human ovary in the laboratory from slivers of ovarian tissue which has been able to turn an immature human egg into a mature one, a breakthrough they claim may soon offer women cancer patients more chances of conceiving. To create the artificial ovary, a team at the Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island started with theca cells, which form the outer coating of the follicle which holds the egg and produces a precursor to oestrogen. The scientists got their cells from ovaries that had been removed from young women for other reasons. A gel...

A major advance in fertility treatment is signalled today as doctors unveil details of a technique that will allow human eggs to be grown in the laboratory from ovarian tissue samples.   Over 30,000 couples have IVF treatment each year The procedure, which is being pioneered by two British fertility clinics, involves taking a piece of ovary tissue from a woman and "banking" it in a laboratory until she is ready to start a family.It would allow career women, or those waiting to meet the right partner, to delay motherhood for years.It could also eliminate many of the health risks...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 31, 2007London, England (LifeNews.com) -- British abortion practitioner Andrew Gbinigie nearly killed a woman in a botched abortion and was the subject of charges of sexual harassment from 35 women. He has been unable to find a job since multiple hearings were held on the cases and has now lost an appeal to get his medical license reinstated.In May 2006, the British General Medical Council determined that Gbinigie, a 51-year-old, could practice medicine again if he underwent retraining to update his medical skills.He also faced restrictions including only working at hospitals with intensive care facilities and...

Scientists working with sheep have for the first time developed embryos from whole ovaries which were transplanted after being frozen and then thawed. The journal Human Production reported that eggs obtained from two such ovaries produced early sheep embryos. And researchers at Israel's Institute of Animal Science believe the procedure could one day work with humans. Scientists have been seeking ways to preserve the fertility of women undergoing aggressive cancer treatment. We hope that it will not take more than a few years for this to become a practicable option for women Researcher Yehudit Nathan One option is to harvest,...

Challenging the bedrock verity of mammalian biology that a female's eggs, like private reserve wines, are made one time only, in limited numbers, and are apt to turn to vinegar if left on the shelf too long, researchers have found startling evidence that the ovaries may instead be replenished with new eggs throughout a female's reproductive career. Dr. Jonathan Tilly and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital report in today's issue of the journal Nature that they have discovered multiple signposts of germ-line stem cells in the ovaries of young and adult female mice: powerful...

Determining at what point life begins in the womb. To resolve the issue, then, let us take a look at life as it is born into the world. The new baby, most of the time, is said to be "alive," depending upon various and sundry "vital- signs, "Vital" from "vivus" being LAtin for "life, living." Yet, we do not conclude that the baby "became" alive at the moment of birth, for then we must concern ourselves with the prebirth "kicking" of the babe in the womb. Is it alive? Or is it just "thinking about life to come? ("For lo,...