Report from the first ovarian clear cell carcinoma symposium in Vancouver
Vancouver, B.C. – British Columbian researchers and clinicians with the Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OVCARE) hosted the first symposium dedicated to the understanding of clear cell carcinomas of the ovary.
International experts met in June of 2010 in Vancouver to discuss the clinical, pathological, molecular and treatment-related features of ovarian clear cell carcinoma. A report entitled, “Clear cell carcinoma of the ovary: A report from the first Ovarian Clear Cell Symposium June 24th, 2010”, is now In Press in the journal, Gynecology Oncology (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ygyno.2011.01.005)(click here for the author’s personal use copy).
Clear cell carcinoma of the ovary is a distinct ovarian cancer subtype and is associated with a worse prognosis than the more common serous form of ovarian cancer. The prevalence of clear cell carcinoma ranges from 5 to 25% of all ovarian cancers, and tends to occur in younger women and is more commonly associated with endometriosis. In September of 2010, an OVCARE research team reported a major discovery in the New England Journal of Medicine involving the ARID1A gene, which was found to be frequently mutated in this aggressive subtype of ovarian cancer.
“Researchers and clinicians are just starting to recognize the very basic differences between ovarian cancer types and that the current standard treatments applied to serous ovarian cancers just aren’t effective for clear cell carcinomas. This meeting was a first step not only for identifying novel therapies but also for exploring better ways to learn about this devastating disease,” says Dr. Michael Anglesio (PhD), first author of the paper and research associate in Dr. David Huntsman’s lab (OVCARE researcher and co-founder).
This paper will be the first entry into “The Gray Family Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma Research Resource (OCCC Research Resource)”. At the scientific core of the OCCC Research Resource is a major 8-year, OCCC-dedicated research project, funding of which was seeded by the Gray Family in the Fall of 2010. This project is led by Dr. David Huntsman, along with an extensive team of BCCA cancer researchers and international scientific collaborators. The OVCARE team hopes to unravel the molecular and genetic basis of this group of ovarian cancers and to develop more effective therapeutic treatments for patients.
