STILL MORE ON PARPi

         PICKING OUT GOURDS TO DECORATE

We have considered PARP inhibitors (PARPi) several times.  There are three currently approved for treatment of ovarian cancer:  drug names Lynparza, Zejula, Rubraca.  They are not a cure but rather a means to prolong PFS (progression-free survival) without recourse to more chemotherapy, which may seriously impact quality of life.  PARPi works best in cases where the BRCA gene is mutated, but may be of some benefit for other OVCA patients.  This article contains much useful information which, with luck, you will never need.  Read it anyway.

https://www.onclive.com/view/weighing-risks-and-benefits-is-critical-with-second-line-maintenance-parp-inhibition-in-ovarian-cancer

Note that it would be very beneficial to know one’s BRCA status.  Any blanket health care system that we may eventually adopt ought to cover BRCA testing for every female.  Tell your favorite local legislator. 

 

 

PROGRESS THROUGH AI

                     OUR SKINNY PHASE

                                              Cat is Whiskers

The Economist has given us an interesting and useful look at some basic biology that you probably already know.  Here it is.  Read it anyway.

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/11/30/how-do-proteins-fold 

So, the body makes proteins by first “reading” an appropriate stretch of DNA to create messenger RNA (mRNA).  The mRNA next travels to the nearest available ribosome, where it in turn is “read”, producing a string of amino acids that we call proteins.  As you know, proteins do everything worth doing in the body – and some that are not worth doing; the “spikes” that attach the coronavirus to our cells are proteins.

You probably also are aware that the function of a protein depends on its shape.  What happens is that the chain of amino acids folds itself into a particular shape in response to the electrostatic forces between elements of the chain.  As many proteins are thousands of amino acids in length, heretofore it has been difficult, if not downright impossible, to predict a folded final configuration from an arbitrary string of amino acids.  Now, however, some disgustingly smart people have devised a way to do just that, using artificial intelligence (AI), often called machine learning.  Potentially, this is hot stuff, medicine wise, because it will allow us to craft our own, artificial, proteins to do specific tasks in the body.  Like. Kill cancer cells.  More progress.

CHILL OUT!

                  LINDA AND CURIOUS NEPHEW

Do you have some dormant cancer cells asleep inside you?  You naturally hope not, but I guess you can’t be sure – especially if you are in remission from a past bout with the disease.  Well, your ever-vigilant NIH newly advises you to avoid stress, in order not to awaken the nasty little bastards.   Apparently experiments with mice have shown that stress can activate production of certain hormones which, in turn, cause inflammation that induces dormant cancer cells to leap into action!  (Questions:  How do you insert dormant cancer cells into a mouse?  How can you tell when a mouse is stressed?) But, anyway – chill out!  Sip a little pumpkin liqueur of an evening and read a good book.  That’s part of my plan for longevity – and I’m 87.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/stress-may-awaken-dormant-cancer-cells 

ENCOURAGING NEWS

     

                           

                                            Linda and Amanda                                     

                                                        A long time ago

Unfortunately, many women diagnosed with ovarian cancer find themselves in stage 3c, or even stage 4.  While not an automatic death sentence, such a diagnosis is very bad news.  Thus it is encouraging that a small outfit based in San Francisco, Sutro Biopharma, has successfully completed a Phase 1 trial that holds promise of extended life, and possibly even complete re mission.  Results are summarized in the link  below.  To read it without excessive head scratching it might help to know that RECIST stands for Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, PR means partial response, and CR stands for complete response

https://www.ajmc.com/view/phase-1-study-of-novel-drug-for-ovarian-cancer-shows-positive-results

BLACK TEA GOOD, SKIM MILK BAD

                                      Linda at Machu Picchu

It would be splendid if we could greatly reduce the risk of contracting ovarian cancer by paying close attention to what we eat and drink,  but, apparently, we can’t.  The link below reports the results of a massive statistical study of diet and OVCA.  The result: a weak negative correlation between black tea intact and OVCA; a weak positive correlation with lactose intact and OVCA.  All else, nil.  Sigh!

https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(20)30653-1/fulltext?rss=yes  

TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR RECURRENT OVARIAN CANCER

            LINDA ON THE RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON

                                                          Off Season

Clearly, the best way to deal with ovarian cancer is not to get it.  But if you do, probably the best place to be is New York City, where you can access the facilities of the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  If you happen to be in Boston, the Dana Farber Cancer Center probably is just as good.* But just don’t get it; or, if you do, catch it early.  Knowing a lot about your genetic makeup would help, but for most of us that’s difficult, and expensive.

Well, a Dana Farber researcher has summarized some new treatment options, explained below.  Make sure your oncologist knows this stuff; my guess is that a fair number of them don’t.

https://blog.dana-farber.org/insight/2020/11/the-latest-advances-in-ovarian-cancer-treatment/ 

*And, if you live on the west coast, SCCA and Fred Hutch are the ones to consult.

 

A VERY PROMISING NEW TOOL

           AN EXTRA FANCY DINNER IN CAIRO

Until very recently the only weapons available to combat cancer were surgery, chemotherapy, radiation – and, I suppose – prayer.  Radiation could be quite effective under a few circumstances; implanting a little seed of radioactive material next to a prostate cancer, for instance.  However, under most conditions radiation therapy required shooting a destructive beam through healthy tissue to get at a localized cancer mass inside.  This led to nasty side effects in some cases, and was worth doing only if the cancer hadn’t spread.

Well, now, those tax dollars you cheerfully gave over to the National Cancer Institute have yielded what seems to me may be a very important breakthrough.  As the article cited below will explain, it now seems to be possible to attach a tiny but nasty bit of radioactive material to molecules engineered (by nature and/or man) to seek out and glom onto cancer cells, thereby killing them without doing collateral damage to healthy tissue.  Furthermore, these little killer blobs can search out metastases wherever they may hide!  Nice, huh?

Read the NCI blurb and, if necessary, make sure your oncologist has read it, too.

https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/radiopharmaceuticals-cancer-radiation-therapy?cid=eb_govdel 

MORE ON PARPi

                  on hurricane ridge, a long time ago

 

Another study showing the effectiveness of PARP inhibitors in prolonging life for OVCA victims.  Be sure your oncologist is up to speed.

https://www.wsmv.com/news/vanderbilt-oncologist-says-ovarian-cancer-drug-gives-the-gift-of-time/article_0ce69512-023f-11eb-8134-cf5a563ac21e.html 

 

PROTEINS AGAINST OVCA

                          Linda selects gourds to decorate

                                         Probably about  2005

This is a serious piece describing research inching us toward a cure for HGSOC .  HGSOC (high-grade serous ovarian cancer) is one of the most common types of OC, and also the most deadly; only about 35% of women diagnosed with HGSOC survive for five years.  Linda had HGSOC; she died after only about 3 1/2 years.

I am not going to try to summarize this excellent essay; read it yourself – and perhaps take a little heart.  With smart people like this working hard we will whip this SOB yet! 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/oct/17/curing-the-incurable-ovarian-cancer-max-perutz-science-writing-award-2020-winner 

 

CRISPR ONCE AGAIN

            Linda showing off an experimental hair-do

                      She ditched it ten minutes later

I have written many times of CRISPR and its use in gene editing.  I have told you that it is perhaps the most exciting new wrinkle in medical biology in a long, long time.  Well, I was right: its co-discoverers have just been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  Here is Dr. Collins to tell you all about it:

https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/10/08/discussing-the-long-arc-of-discovery-with-nihs-newest-nobelist/ 

Also included is an interesting dialog on hepatitis C.

BAD NEWS

      Linda at Mormon villages, northern Mexico

Our tiny friend – the one that’s keeping us home all the time – is a member of a small family; the coronavirus family, as you surely know already.  A bunch of the family are the causes of the common cold and thus aren’t too menacing.  Two others – SARS and MERS- are nasty, but rare.  And then, of course, we have our friend, SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19, our current, curse.

Well, if you read any news at all you will know that our best bet for returning to something like normal life is to develop “herd immunity”.  This requires that a very large proportion of the population acquire personal immunity, either by having the disease and surviving, or getting a vaccine.  Either way, the game plan is to build up a strike force of antibodies in the blood sufficient to repel any future invasion of SARS-CoV-2.  Works with mumps and chicken pox, so why not now?

Well, there are two big problems here.  With mumps and chickenpox and many other diseases the antibodies stick around for a lifetime, but with the existing coronavirus strands they don’t (SARS-CoV-2 hasn’t been tested yet).  In fact, they stick around for only about a year.  Also – virus love to mutate; that’s why you need a flu shot every damned year.  Maybe our current friend will do the same.  Nobody knows.

All this is explained better by Dr. Collins, below.  I find it discouraging, to say the least.  Maybe our best hope is cure, not prevention.  And, of course, a mask a  bar of soap and beer on the back deck - not in a pub!

https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/09/29/study-finds-people-have-short-lived-immunity-to-seasonal-coronaviruses/  

 

OVARIAN CANCER CLIFF NOTES

 In a pub

Greenwich, England

For all of you seriously concerned with ovarian cancer – and yes, that should include all of you, even those of us lucky enough to carry a Y chromosome – this essay is greatly recommended.  It covers the whole subject, so I won’t bore you with a summary.  Read it yourself.  It is slightly encouraging. 

https://cancercommons.org/latest-insights/new-treatments-for-ovarian-cancer-in-2020/ 

OVARIAN CANCE AWARENESS MONTH IS NOW!

Linda in Michigan

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  Wear teal and give ‘till it hurts!

http://engage.fredhutch.org/site/TR/PersonalFundraisingPages/General?px=1148821&pg=personal&fr_id=1573