Ovarian Cancer: Page 3

CMS plans broader coverage for NGS in breast, ovarian cancer

By Emily Hayes

The agency's review and terms and conditions on the matter were published on October 29 in a proposed national coverage determination (NCD). The agency advised coverage for next-generation sequencing with physician-ordered companion diagnostic tests approved or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and performed in a CLIA-certified lab. Patients must meet a range of conditions, according to CMS. They must have ovarian or breast cancer, have clinical indications for testing for hereditary cancer, and have never received a prior NGS test. Results will be provided to the treating physician.

October 29, 2019

Myriad's myChoice PARP companion test clears FDA

By LabPulse.com staff writers

PARP inhibitors have become well-established in various lines of treatment for ovarian cancer. The latest approval for Zejula covers use in patients with advanced ovarian cancer after three or more prior chemotherapy regimens and who also test positive for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). HRD is defined in one of two ways: by genomic instability with disease progression more than six months after a response to platinum-based chemotherapy treatment, or by a BRCA mutation that is deleterious or suspected to be deleterious. Zejula is the only PARP inhibitor with this particular indication in late-line ovarian cancer.

October 23, 2019

Genetic testing of all breast cancer patients may pay off

By Emily Hayes

Currently, most guidelines advise genetic testing only for patients who meet certain criteria: for example, if someone in their family has tested positive for BRCA1/2 mutations, which cause the most concern in breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer. There are also issues associated with expanding testing, including costs.

October 6, 2019

Ovarian cancer blood test could reduce unnecessary surgeries

By LabPulse.com staff writers

In a cohort of a study identifying biomarkers of interest and establishing proof of concept, the panel of 11 proteins had a positive predictive value of 92%, sensitivity of 85%, and specificity of 93% for detecting stage I to IV ovarian cancer. Dr. Ulf Gyllensten, a professor of medical molecular genetics in the department of immunology, genetics, and pathology at Uppsala University, and colleagues presented the results in the open access journal Communications Biology.

June 19, 2019

Thrive lifts off with multicancer liquid biopsy test

By LabPulse.com staff writers

Developed by Johns Hopkins University researchers and licensed exclusively to Thrive, CancerSEEK tests DNA and protein in the blood and is designed for use in primary care settings. The test has breakthrough device designation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in detecting proteins and mutations associated with ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

May 29, 2019

Why BRCA1/2 genetic testing rates are so low and how to fix them

By Emily Hayes

A quality improvement study of 1,184 people with cancer who underwent genetic testing through the Royal Marsden National Health Service Foundation Trust Mainstreaming Cancer Genetics (MCG) program showed that using five or six simple criteria to determine who should undergo BRCA1/2 testing is efficient and cost-effective for identifying BRCA mutations, which are present in 3% to 5% of breast cancers and 12% to 15% of ovarian cancers.

May 28, 2019