Background Our purpose was to elucidate relative preferences of women with ovarian cancer for symptoms, treatment-related side effects, and progression-free survival (PFS) relevant to choosing a treatment regimen. Methods Women with advanced or recurrent ovarian cancer participated in a survey inclusive of three methods to measure patient preferences (ratings, rankings and a discrete-choice experiment [DCE]) for 7 attributes: mode of administration, visit frequency, peripheral neuropathy, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, abdominal discomfort and PFS. Participants were asked to choose between two unlabeled treatment scenarios characterized using the 7 attributes. Each participant completed 12 choice questions wherein attribute levels were assigned according to an experimental design and a fixed choice question representing two chemotherapy regimens for ovarian cancer. Results 95 women completed the survey. Participants' ratings and rankings revealed greater concern and importance for PFS than for any other attribute (p<0.0001 for all). DCE revealed that the relative odds that a participant would choose a scenario with 18, 21 and 24 months of PFS versus 15 months of PFS were 1.5 (p=0.01), 3.4 (p<0.001) and 7.5 (p<0.001), respectively. However, participants' choices indicated that they were willing to accept lower PFS to avoid severe side effects: 6.7 months to reduce severe nausea and vomiting to mild, 5.0 months to reduce severe neuropathy to mild, and 3.7 months to reduce severe abdominal symptoms to moderate. Conclusion PFS is the predominant driver of patient preferences for chemotherapy regimens. However, women in this study were willing to trade significant PFS time for reductions in treatment-related toxicity.

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ObjectiveTo determine the rate and performance of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping among women with high-risk endometrial cancers.MethodsPatients diagnosed between 2012 and 2015 with uterine cancer of grade 3 endometrioid, clear cell, serous or carcinosarcoma histology and who underwent SLN mapping prior to full pelvic lymph node dissection were included. Subjects underwent methylene blue or ICG injection for laparoscopic (N = 16) or robotic-assisted laparoscopic (N = 20) staging. Outcomes included SLN mapping rates, SLN and non-SLN positive rates, false negative SLN algorithm rate, and the negative predictive value (NPV) of the SLN algorithm. Fisher's exact test was used to compare mapping and node positivity rates.Results9/36 (25%) patients with high-risk uterine cancer had at least one metastatic lymph node identified. Successful mapping occurred in 30/36 (83%) patients. SLN mapped to pelvic nodes bilaterally in 20 (56%), unilaterally in 9 (25%), and aortic nodes only in 1 (3%). Malignancy was identified in 14/95 (15%) of all sentinel nodes and 12/775 (1.5%) of all non-sentinel nodes (p < 0.001). The false negative rate of SLN mapping alone was 2/26 (7.7%); the NPV was 92.3%. When the SLN algorithm was applied retrospectively the false negative rate was 0/31 (0%); the NPV was 100%.ConclusionSLN mapping rates for high-risk cancers are slightly lower than in prior reports of lower risk cancers. The NPV of the SLN mapping alone is 92% and rises to 100% when the SLN algorithm is applied. Such results are acceptable and consistent with larger subsets of lower risk endometrial cancers.

BackgroundAlthough genetic testing is recommended for women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), little is known about patient preferences for various testing options. We measured relative preferences for attributes of testing in women with EOC referred for genetic counseling.MethodsSubjects were recruited to participate in a discrete-choice-experiment survey to elicit preferences for attributes of genetic testing: out-of-pocket cost ($0, $100, $250, or $1000), probability of a deleterious mutation (60, 80%, or 88%), probability of a variant of uncertain significance (VUS) result (5, 20%, or 40%), sample requirements (blood or saliva), and turn-around time (1, 2 or 4 weeks). Subjects viewed educational videos followed by a series of choices between pairs of constructed genetic tests with varying attribute levels. Random-parameters logit was used to estimate preference weights for attribute levels. Relative importance weights and money-equivalent values were calculated.ResultsNinety-four patients were enrolled; 68 (76.4%) presented for genetic counseling. Test cost was the most important attribute to subjects (importance weight = 41 out of 100) followed by probability to detect deleterious mutations (36) and probability of a VUS result (20). Sample requirements and turnaround time did not drive test choices. Subjects were willing to pay an additional $155 and $70 for incremental 5% improvements in the probability to detect deleterious mutations and probability of a VUS result. At genetics consultation, 55/68 (80.9%) subjects chose multigene testing.ConclusionsLow out-of-pocket cost, high probability of detecting deleterious mutations and high probability of a VUS result are preferred by patients with EOC considering genetic testing.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40661-019-0066-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Among gynecological malignancies epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading cause of death. Despite improvements in conventional chemotherapy combinations, the overall cure rate has remained mostly stable over the years, and only 10%–15% of patients maintain a complete response following first-line therapy. To improve the efficacy of ovarian cancer chemotherapy it is essential to develop drugs with new mechanisms of action. Compared to normal tissues, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is overexpressed in ovarian tumors. PDI is a cellular enzyme in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of eukaryotes or the periplasmic region of prokaryotes. This protein catalyzes the formation and breakage of disulphide bonds between cysteine residues in proteins, which affects protein folding. Selective inhibition of PDI activity has been exhibited both in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity in human ovarian cancer models. PDI inhibition caused accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins, which led to ER stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR), and in turn resulted in cell death. Nitazoxanide [NTZ: 2-acetyloxy-N-(5-nitro-2-thiazolyl)benzamide] is a thiazolide antiparasitic agent with excellent activity against a wide variety of protozoa and helminths. In this article, we propose that NTZ, acting as PDI inhibitor, may be a new and potent addition to the chemotherapeutic strategy against ovarian cancer.