Ovarian Cancer

Adding to conflicting research on the risks and benefits of postmenopausal estrogen therapy, a large new study concludes that taking the hormone for at least 10 years significantly raises the risk of dying from ovarian cancer. But even with this study, the link is not proven and questions remain. The study was begun so long ago that it focused on women who took estrogen alone, even though women today usually take estrogen with progestin - a regimen that may reduce any ovarian-cancer risk.

Birth-control pills appear to reduce a woman's risk of ovarian cancer by at least 40 percent, regardless of the brand, even if she has been taking them less than a year or stopped taking them 15 years ago, researchers say. They say a goverment study involving more than 4,000 women provided the strongest evidence yet of the protective value of oral contraceptives against the deadly form of cancer. "This is very strong confirmation of something that had been suspected for quite some time," said Nancy C. Lee, a researcher from the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta who reported the findings in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

When the diagnosis of ovarian cancer came, New Jersey Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin met the news with shock and a degree of relief. "I thought it couldn't happen to me," she said yesterday. "Nobody in my family had cancer. " After months of dealing with the cancer privately, the former Cherry Hill mayor went public in hopes of encouraging other women to get annual exams to detect cancer early - before it's too late to help them. Levin said she was grateful that her cancer had been detected in the early stages and was treatable.

Dr. Hugh G. Grady, 78, of Jenkintown, an expert on ovarian cancer and a distinguished medical educator, died Saturday at the St. Joseph's Villa nursing home in Flourtown. A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Grady was the salutatorian of the Class of 1926 of St. Joseph Prep as well as of the Class of 1930 at St. Joseph College. He received his medical degree from the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine in 1934. Dr. Grady completed his internship and residency at the old Philadelphia General Hospital.

Women at high risk for ovarian cancer should get an annual blood test that could detect the disease in its earliest stage when it can be effectively treated, researchers told the American Association for Cancer Research meeting here yesterday. The test, which detects a protein found at elevated levels in the bloodstream of women with ovarian cancer, might someday be used much like a mammogram to screen healthy women over age 50, a cancer expert, Dr. Robert C. Bast Jr., said. If preliminary findings from a trial in England hold up in a larger study being planned, annual routine administration of the antibody test could save the lives of 4,500 to 5,000 American women every year, Bast said.

Most women with highly curable, early-stage ovarian cancer are not meticulously checked during surgery to see if the disease has spread - a lapse that could increase their chances of dying, according to a new National Cancer Institute study. The study also found that women frequently are not given the state-of-the-art chemotherapy treatments recommended for ovarian cancer, especially if they are 65 or older and have advanced disease. The findings are an indication that even as researchers develop new and more effective treatments for various cancers, many people do not get the standard of care already available.

She felt that in some eerie way, her own life was being shown on TV. For months, Laura Rosenthal had been identifying with the show thirtysomething. Her husband, Jesse, was trying hard to make a go of his own business, just as character Michael Steadman was; the Rosenthals were raising two children, just as characters Nancy and Elliot Weston were. Like many young couples who are thirtysomething junkies, the Rosenthals enjoyed comparing the twists and turns of their own marriage with the ones on the show.

Less than a decade ago, the study of proteins and their roles in the body was such an ill-defined field that it had no name. Now, "proteomics" is fueling a biotechnology boom and promising a revolution in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It is already providing new avenues for detecting and monitoring prostate, breast, lung and ovarian cancers. Correlogic Systems of Bethesda, Md., for example, has developed an ovarian cancer detection blood test that it plans to market.

Women at risk of developing hereditary ovarian and breast cancers can reduce their risk of both diseases by having their ovaries surgically removed, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center. The radical surgery throws a woman into premature menopause by eliminating the organ that produces estrogen, the female sex hormone. But since there are no early detection tests for ovarian cancer, surgery is often advised for women likely to develop it. The new study, published in today's Journal of the National Cancer Institute, demonstrates that removal of the ovaries also dramatically reduces breast-cancer risk for women carrying mutated BRCA1 genes, which cause inherited forms of ovarian and breast cancer.

Over Sunday brunch in 1999, Peter J. Levine threw out an idea that would propel the lawyer-turned-entrepreneur to the frontier of molecular research. Three years later, he was the unlikely coauthor of a paper heralded as a medical breakthrough. Using blood "from a finger stick," researchers had reliably detected ovarian cancer with "a test that can be completed in 30 minutes," one that was "potentially applicable to any type of disease," said the National Cancer Institute, which paid for the February 2002 study.

The University of Pennsylvania has received a gift of $25 million to start a research center focused on the treatment and prevention of cancers linked to certain hereditary gene mutations, the Philadelphia institution said Tuesday. The donors behind the Basser Research Center are Jon and Mindy Gray, 1992 Penn graduates. Jon Gray, 42, is global head of real estate and a member of the board at New York investment and advisory firm Blackstone Group The center, to be housed at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center in University City, is named in honor of Mindy Gray's sister, Faith Basser, who died at 44 of ovarian cancer caused by a gene mutation.

Doctors ordering unnecessary ovarian cancer test, survey says Expert groups and government advisers recommend against routine ovarian cancer screening using vaginal ultrasound and the CA125 blood protein test because these are so unreliable and often lead to unnecessary diagnostic workups. Nonetheless, a new survey of 1,088 physicians who provide primary care to women finds that one in three believes ovarian cancer screening is effective - and many of them routinely offer or order the two tests.

The potent Wit is the only play Margaret Edson wrote, and you could say she quit while she was on top of her game. Her story of a callous, didactic scholar battling stage-4 ovarian cancer won the Pulitzer Prize in 1999 and has been produced by theaters all over the country. But until now, never on Broadway, where the Manhattan Theatre Club opened Wit on Thursday night in a striking production - and with a stunning performance by Cynthia Nixon that is more than textbook acting.

S UN HEE LEE WILL participate in the ovarian-cancer run/walk Sunday morning and will likely cross the finish line, no doubt feeling triumphant. She well should. Lee, who lives in University City, has been defying the odds since being diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer in 2007. By the time doctors discovered the reasons for her nagging cough and swollen abdomen, the cancer had spread to her chest cavity. Typically, the one-year survival rate for most patients diagnosed with late-stage ovarian is dismal - just 17 percent, according to the Annals of Medicine.

Friday Main Line's swinging block party First Friday Main Line will be "Swinging into Spring" as Dancing Down the Main Line returns. From 6 to 10 p.m., there will be a block party with David Pershica Smith and Tapography, a swing-dance exhibition featuring Paul Salter and Sam Sheesley, and a live swing band. Also, Case Gallery will host the Delaware Valley Traveling Art Stroll and work from local artist Karen Gotlieb from 6 to 9 p.m. The free event will be on the first block of Cricket Avenue near Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore.

Kathleen A. Coleman, 74, of Westmont, a longtime national advertising sales representative at The Inquirer and a former local theater actress, died of ovarian cancer on Saturday, Dec. 18, at her home. After working different secretarial jobs in the Philadelphia area, Mrs. Coleman landed a position in 1960 as a secretary in the advertising department at The Inquirer. She quickly rose through the ranks to become a national advertising representative, handling appliances, food, and - the most coveted at the time - liquor accounts, said her husband, J. Kingston Coleman, a former Inquirer photographer.

Marta Victoria Jané DiStefano, 78, of Berwyn, a longtime Spanish teacher, died of ovarian cancer Tuesday, Nov. 30, at her home. She taught Spanish at Catholic and public schools, first in New York City in the 1950s, and then on the upper Main Line starting in the 1970s. She retired in 2005 after her cancer was diagnosed. At various times, she taught Spanish in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District at Conestoga High School and Valley Forge Middle School. Private schools where she taught included Villa Maria Academy and Malvern Preparatory School.

DEAR ABBY: I met a man here in Afghanistan. (We are both deployed.) Since that day we have been together. "Ben" knows that I love him very much. He is scheduled to leave in two months. I am scheduled to leave two months after that. Ben lives in Georgia, and I come from Texas. We want to make it work when we leave here. I'll continue with my job, but because he's a contractor, Ben will be unemployed. I'm not worried about it because I know he's a go-getter. Abby, I have had difficulty when it comes to relationships.

I'M BROAD STREET Billy and, as I gobbled my way through Ashburn Alley last night, hoping that Red September's Chooch-smooching, Howard-powered Phillies diehards will inspire our Rolls Roys of a team to give us another Red October, I dreamt of another World Series after-party with 2 million of my closest friends. So help me get that parade vibe going by sending your favorite Fightin's stories and photos, fan-family histories, pin-striped kids, pets and man-and-woman caves to geringd@phillynews.

Susan Marie Rupp, 52, of Pine Hill, who was known around town as Coach Sue for her longtime dedication to the Pine Hill Youth Association, died of ovarian cancer Friday, July 30, at Hahnemann University Hospital. Mrs. Rupp was the one of three McCullen sisters who had no athletic talent growing up, her family said. But because her mother and sisters were involved with youth association teams, Mrs. Rupp joined them as a scorekeeper for games. By the time she graduated from Overbrook High School in 1976, Mrs. Rupp was team manager for a girls' softball team, said her husband, Norman.