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Objective this prospective cohort study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy in Japanese patients with relapsed ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer. Methods in this study, 40 Japanese patients with relapsed ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer selected to receive bevacizumab with chemotherapy were enrolled. Patients in poor general condition were excluded. Each patient was monitored prospectively for adverse events, administration status, disease status and survival. Treatment was continued until intolerable adverse events or disease progression. The primary endpoint was safety. Results bevacizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy was performed for 30 patients (median cycle; 16.5), while bevacizumab plus non-platinum chemotherapy was performed for 10 patients (median cycle; 5.5). Among bevacizumab-related adverse events, hypertension occurred in 80% of patients, proteinuria in 83%, mucositis in 25%, bleeding in 20%, thromboembolic events in 5.0% and fistula in 2.5%. Gastrointestinal perforation or other life-threatening lethal adverse events were not observed. Response rate and median progression-free survival were 73% and 19.3 months for patients with bevacizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy, and 30% and 3.9 months for patients with bevacizumab plus non-platinum chemotherapy, respectively. There was no correlation between response rate and occurrence of adverse events such as hypertension or proteinuria. Conclusion bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy was tolerable and effective for Japanese patients with relapsed ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer or primary peritoneal cancer. Hypertension and proteinuria are frequently occurred and managed properly for continuing treatment.

We investigated whether UGT1A1 polymorphisms are associated with the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients treated with irinotecan. UGT1A1 genotypes were analyzed in 11 stage I ovarian clear cell carcinoma patients who received irinotecan as first-line therapy. Progression-free survival, overall survival and adverse events were also assessed for each genotype. Three patients harbored UGT1A1*1/*6 while another three harbored UGT1A1*1/*28. Two patients with a wild-type genotype experienced recurrence and one died, whereas no recurrence or death was observed in patients with heterozygous genotypes. Adverse events tended to be more severe in patients with UGT1A1*6 and *28, although progression-free survival and overall survival rates tended to be better than in wild-type; the differences were not significant. We conclude that UGT1A1 polymorphisms have the potential to be a prognostic marker of irinotecan treatment.

Objective Interval debulking surgery (IDS) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is currently one of the preferred treatment options for advanced ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of dose-dense paclitaxel plus carboplatin therapy (ddTC therapy) as NAC for these cancers. Patients and methods A retrospective study was conducted in 25 patients with Stage III/IV ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer who received ddTC therapy as NAC. For ddTC therapy, paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) was administered intravenously on Days 1, 8 and 15 and carboplatin (AUC 6.0 mg/ml × min) was administered intravenously on Day 1 every 3 weeks. IDS was performed after three cycles of ddTC therapy, and ddTC therapy was also continued after surgery. Results With ddTC therapy as NAC, the response rate was 92% and disease progression did not occur in any patient. Grade 4 hematologic toxicity and ≥Grade 3 non-hematologic toxicity both occurred in 8% of the patients, but no patient discontinued NAC because of adverse events. When IDS was performed, the complete surgery rate was 64% and the optimal surgery rate was 96%. ≥Grade 3 perioperative complications occurred in 16% of the patients, but there were no perioperative deaths. Median overall survival was 35.7 months and median progression-free survival was 17.7 months. Conclusion This study showed that ddTC therapy was considerably effective and tolerable as NAC. The complete surgery rate was high with IDS, and perioperative complications were acceptable.

Background: This study aimed to examine family history among Japanese ovarian cancer patients and to investigate the TP53 status of fallopian tube epithelial and ovarian cancer cells in a Japanese BRCA1 mutant case that may be associated with the transformed state in hereditary ovarian cancer. Methods: One hundred and two primary ovarian cancer patients were retrospectively evaluated in this cross-sectional study. The family history of cancer was determined in probands. In a BRCA1 mutant case, p53 immunostaining and direct sequencing, followed by laser-capture microdissection, were performed for the fallopian tube, considered the origin of ovarian cancer. Results: Nine of 102 (8.8%) families were regarded as having hereditary breast–ovarian cancer syndrome, two families (2.0%) were diagnosed with Lynch syndrome and six patients harbored BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. One case underwent risk-reductive salpingooophorectomy as a BRCA1 mutant carrier was retrospectively diagnosed as occult cancer. Common TP53 mutations were detected in cancer and fallopian tube epithelial cells in the case. Conclusions: Here, we integrate family cancer history and histology in ovarian cancer cases as well as TP53 status in a BRCA1 mutant case into a discussion regarding carcinogenesis in a Japanese population. The TP53 status for the BRCA1 mutant case examined here supports the recently proposed theory that ovarian cancer develops because of BRCA1 or BRCA2 inactivation and/or TP53 mutations.

This study shows that the newly designed self-administered questionnaire is a useful tool to assess the risk of hereditary cancer for patients with gynecologic cancer., Background A patient's medical history and familial cancer history are important information for assessing the risk of hereditary cancer. We have generated a self-administered questionnaire for patients with gynecologic cancer. This pilot study analyzed the usefulness of this questionnaire and the rates of patients that meet the Society of Gynecologic Oncology criteria in ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer patients. Method Ovarian or endometrial cancer patients were recruited for this study. After informed consent was obtained, participants completed the questionnaire. Genetic risks were assessed from the data of each patient's questionnaire by Society of Gynecologic Oncology guideline. Clinical and pathological findings were compared between the genetic risk groups. Results A total of 105 patients were identified with ovarian cancer and 56 patients with endometrial cancer eligible for this study. According to the Society of Gynecologic Oncology guideline, of the 105 ovarian cancer patients, 25 patients (23%) had a 20–25% risk and three patients (2.9%) had a 5–10% risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. A further 22 patients (21%) had a 5–10% risk of Lynch syndrome. Two patients (1.9%) met the Amsterdam criteria II. Of 56 endometrial cancer patients, 24 patients (42.9%) had a 5–10% risk of Lynch syndrome. The endometrial cancer patients with genetic risk of Lynch syndrome were younger (mean age: 47.79) at diagnosis compared to patients without a genetic risk of Lynch syndrome (mean age: 57.91). Conclusions In this study, we were able to show that the newly designed questionnaire is a useful tool for evaluating cancer family history along with Society of Gynecologic Oncology criteria or Amsterdam criteria II. When considering the risk of Lynch syndrome for a patient with ovarian cancer, it is important to collect a second and third relative's family history.