Background: During an international workshop held in September 1998, a group of specialists in the field of ovarian cancer reached consensus on a number of issues with implications for standard practice and for research of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.Methods: Five groups of experts considered several issues which incl uded: biologic factors, prognostic factors, surgery, init ial chemotherapy, second-line treatment, the use of CA 125, investigational drugs, intra-peritoneal treatment and high-dose chemotherapy. The group attempted to arrive at answers to questions such as: Are there prognostic factors, which help to identify patients who will not do well with CUITent therapy? What is the current best therapy for advanced ovarian carcinoma? What directions sho uld research take in advanced ovarian cancer? T hese issues were discussed in a plenary meeting.

No abstract

The specific retention of androgens and oestrogens by cytoplasmic components of human ovarian tumours was investigated. High-affinity, low-capacity binding of androgens was observed in 88% of tumour specimens and oestrogen binding in 32%. Retention of oestrogens did not occur in the absence of androgen binding. The androgen-binding component, of sedimentation coefficient 7.5-8.5S, showed specificity for 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and 17 beta-hydroxy-17 alpha-methyl-estra-4,9,11-trien-3-one (R1881). In some instances, competition for R1881-binding sites indicated the presence of progesterone receptor-like binding. The data presented suggest strongly the existence of androgen and oestrogen receptors in some ovarian tumours and may be relevant to histopathological classification and therapeutic rationales.

No abstract

Androgen and estrogen binding to cytosol proteins was examined in preparations derived from canine prostatic tissue and from epithelial and fibroblastoid cell lines. Binding parameters were characterized by saturation analysis using a protamine sulfate precipitation procedure and by analysis of the mobility of steroid‐binding moieties in sucrose density gradients. Androgen‐binding studies demonstrated the presence of a single class of high‐affinity binding component (kD = 1‐2 × 10−9 M), with specificity for 5α‐dihydrotestosterone, in cytosols derived from tissue homogenates and both cell types. In estrogen‐binding studies two discrete classes of binding component were characterized of high (kD = 5‐10 × 10−10 M) and moderate (kD = 1‐2 × 10−8 M) affinities. Both species were present in cytosol derived from all three sources. The high‐affinity component displayed specificity for estradiol‐17β, and the second component displayed some capacity for androgen binding. These findings are discussed with reference to the anomalous actions of some androgens in the canine prostate and in relation to the putative role of steroids in stromal‐epithelial interrelationships.