There is strong and confirmatory evidence from two large randomized phase III trials to support paclitaxel-cisplatin as the new standard regimen for treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

Controlling coherent electromagnetic interactions in molecular systems is a problem of both fundamental interest and important applicative potential in the development of photonic and opto-electronic devices. The strength of these interactions determines both the absorption and emission properties of molecules coupled to nanostructures, effectively governing the optical properties of such a composite metamaterial. Here we report on the observation of strong coupling between a plasmon supported by an assembly of oriented gold nanorods (ANR) and a molecular exciton. We show that the coupling is easily engineered and is deterministic as both spatial and spectral overlap between the plasmonic structure and molecular aggregates are controlled. We think that these results in conjunction with the flexible geometry of the ANR are of potential significance to the development of plasmonic molecular devices.

We show that aligned gold nanotube arrays capable of supporting plasmonic resonances can be used as high performance refractive index sensors in biomolecular binding reactions. A methodology to examine the sensing ability of the inside and outside walls of the nanotube structures is presented. The sensitivity of the plasmonic nanotubes is found to increase as the nanotube walls are exposed, and the sensing characteristic of the inside and outside walls is shown to be different. Finite element simulations showed good qualitative agreement with the observed behavior. Free standing gold nanotubes displayed bulk sensitivities in the region of 250 nm per refractive index unit and a signal-to-noise ratio better than 1000 upon protein binding which is highly competitive with state-of-the-art label-free sensors.

Aims: Traditionally, advanced stage ovarian carcinoma is treated by debulking surgery followed by chemotherapy. However, in some circumstances preoperative chemotherapy may be given before optimal surgical debulking. This study aims to describe the morphological features found in ovarian carcinoma after chemotherapy because these have not been detailed previously. Methods: Histological sections were examined from 18 cases of ovarian carcinoma that had been treated by preoperative chemotherapy. The morphology was compared with any pre-chemotherapy biopsies that had been performed. Tumours were classified as showing morphological features suggesting a good response to chemotherapy (n = 14) or as showing little or no response (n = 4). Serum CA125 values before and after chemotherapy were compared. In all cases, the mitotic activity index (MAI), volume percentage of epithelium (VPE), and mean nuclear area (MNA) of tumour cells were calculated. Results: The preoperative biopsies were all typical ovarian serous or endometrioid adenocarcinomas. Morphological features present in the group responding to chemotherapy included the presence of small groups or single tumour cells in a densely fibrotic stroma. Tumour cells were characterised by both nuclear and cytoplasmic alteration, making accurate tumour typing and grading impossible. Nuclear features included the presence of bizarre enlargement with hyperchromatism, irregularity of outline, and chromatin clumping or smudging. Cytoplasmic alterations included intense eosinophilia, vacuolation, or foam cell change. There were pronounced stromal changes of fibrosis, inflammation, collections of foamy histiocytes, cholesterol cleft formation, haemosiderin deposition, fat necrosis, and dystrophic calcification, including the presence of many free psammoma bodies. There was no correlation between morphological response and biochemical response, as determined by serum CA125 values. In all nine cases in which pre-chemotherapy and post-chemotherapy biopsies were available, the MNA increased post-chemotherapy (p = 0.007, paired Wilcoxon test) and in six of nine cases the MAI decreased (p = 0.093). Conclusions: Because preoperative chemotherapy is being used increasingly in the management of ovarian cancer, pathologists should be aware of the resultant morphological effects. Accurate tumour typing and grading is impossible. In some cases, it may be difficult to confirm the presence of residual tumour, making it imperative that pre-chemotherapy tissue biopsies are obtained. Definite confirmation of residual tumour may require the examination of multiple histological sections from areas showing pronounced stromal changes, sometimes with multiple levels and immunohistochemistry. In the absence of definite residual tumour, the report should state that the features are consistent with the prior presence of tumour.

Summary Previous work has implicated putative tumour-suppressor (ts) genes at 6q27 and a broad region at 6pl2-q23. Here