Nice picture
I wish I knew where it was
It is sunny today here in Bellingham, with a high supposedly
approaching 700. I had
intended to drive to the Skagit Flats nature spot, to look at birds. However, I have been outside planting more
pole beans for my back yard deer to eat, and it was uncomfortable – there was a
cold wind a-blowing out of the frozen
wastelands north of Blaine, so I wimped out and tackled ovarian cancer
instead.
I uncovered two articles of interest. One concerns ROCA- I wrote about that several
times before. ROCA is a screening
protocol, involving monitoring changes in the bio-marker CA 125, together with
ultrasound in suspicious cases. It has
been shown to be twice as effective as competing method. If you are lucky enough to live in the U.K.
you will be able to get this monitoring for as little as 150 Pounds
($232.5). The company that offers this
service is called Abcodia. Apparently,
at present the test will be out-of-pocket; however, Abcodia hopes to persuade
the NHS to pay for it. Abcodia will
offer the service in the U.S. in the next year or two; I foresee a great and
bloody struggle to get it approved and routinely offered here.
Apparently ROCA detects only 85% of all OVCA cases; work is
underway to find something for the remaining 15%. Maybe the next article will help.
The second article concerns work at Arizona State University
which indicates that three distinct autoantibodies, if found in a patient’s
blood sample, may prove to be a reliable marker of ovarian cancer. Some quick definitions are in order. An “antibody” it a molecule that is generated
by the immune system to attack an “antigen” – the name antigen merely means
something that will provoke an antibody attack.
In general, antibodies are benign, as they are directed at malicious
invaders – bacteria and their ilk.
Autoantibodies, on the other hand, are molecules that attack “self” -
indigenous proteins. Autoantibodies can be bad news; for instance, they are the
cause of auto-immune diseases, such as Lupus.
However, certain kinds of autoantibodies apparently are generated to
fight cancerous cells; these are the kind that the ASU people are
investigating.
As always: How early can these methods detect ovarian
cancer, and what do we do about it once it’s detected?
Here are the two URLs
Apparently somebody using the Linux operating system and the Firefox browser has accessed over 200 of my blogs today. Who are you, oh mad computer whiz?
ReplyDeleteHere is a recent blurb about early detection. The method is poorly explained, but apparently uses “biomarkers” – that is, the things we at the Hutch sought for so long, mostly in vain. The article is from a stockmarket magazine, and apparently is giving all you savvy investors a heads up about future profits to be made. Don’t bite: by the time this gets through the FDA you will be dead of old age. Or almost.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes this worth reporting on is the statement that even in stage 1 a women’s ovarian cancer can be detected with a sensitivity of nearly 80%. If so, that’s pretty damned good.
http://www.investorideas.com/news/2015/biotech/10151.asp
I've heard that Abcodia, the biomarker validation company with a focus on screening for cancer, granted a worldwide exclusive license to ROCA. This is a good news for women in the US because it will be easy for them to know if they are developing ovarian cancer. According to statistics(ovariancanbcer.org), this type of cancer accounts for about 3% of cancers in women in the US.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. Who are you?
DeleteMore on cancer screening
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/arleneweintraub/2016/05/31/genetic-testing-for-cancer-risk-is-on-the-rise-but-is-it-smart/#7fa38c0ef67a
Here is a clinical trial that may improve screening for ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, it requires feasible access to hospitals in New York or New Jersey. If that applies to you, or you know somebody that might be interested, please click on
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/women-sought-for-ovarian-cancer-screening-study-1
and go from there. Wish them success.