Rare ovarian tumours: Epidemiology, treatment challenges in and outside a network setting

Abstract

This requires European collaboration, international partnerships, harmonization of treatment and collaboration to overcome the regulatory barriers to conduct international trials. Whilst randomized trials can be done in many tumour types, there are some for which conducting even single arm studies may be challenging. For these tumours alternative study designs, robust collection of data through national registries and audits could lead to improvements in the treatment of rare tumours. In addition, concentring the care of patients with rare tumours into a limited number of centres will help to build expertise, facilitate trials and improve outcomes.

GYNOCARE Update: Modern Strategies to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare Gynecologic Tumors—Current Challenges and Future Directions

“…This leads to difficulty in developing guidelines for clinical practice [1,[5][6][7]. Hence, the management of these tumors needs to be based on scientific evidence that should lead to international consensus guidelines and clinical trials, as well as reference centers and/or networks sharing multidisciplinary expertise and access to clinical trials [8,9]. Many of the difficulties in conducting trials in RGT subtypes could be overcome through the establishment of robust international collaborations [9].…”

“…Hence, the management of these tumors needs to be based on scientific evidence that should lead to international consensus guidelines and clinical trials, as well as reference centers and/or networks sharing multidisciplinary expertise and access to clinical trials [8,9]. Many of the difficulties in conducting trials in RGT subtypes could be overcome through the establishment of robust international collaborations [9]. The establishment of networks of centers for RGT across the European Union (EU) helps to achieve the necessary organizational structure and criti-cal mass to improve the biological knowledge of these diseases, carry out clinical trials, and thus optimise patient care [9].…”

“…Many of the difficulties in conducting trials in RGT subtypes could be overcome through the establishment of robust international collaborations [9]. The establishment of networks of centers for RGT across the European Union (EU) helps to achieve the necessary organizational structure and criti-cal mass to improve the biological knowledge of these diseases, carry out clinical trials, and thus optimise patient care [9]. In this regard, the European Commission is implementing the Directive 2011/24/EU that is meant to grant EU patients the right to access safe and good-quality treatment across EU borders.…”

Could MicroRNAs Be Useful Tools to Improve the Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare Gynecological Cancers? A Brief Overview

“…Many gynecological cancers, for example malignant germ-cell tumors, sex cordstromal tumors, gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, vaginal/vulvar carcinoma, and melanoma of the female genital tract, are uncommon and have different clinicopathological characteristics, thus implicating diverse molecular biological pathogeneses. These tumors are defined as "rare", with an annual incidence of <6 per 100,000 women and cumulatively account for over 50% of gynecological cancers [5][6][7][8]. RGCs are generally associated with poor prognosis.…”

Molecular Characterization of Ovarian Yolk Sac Tumor (OYST)

“…The network provides diagnostic expertise and aims to improve the care of patients with these rare tumors with a referral multidisciplinary tumor boards. It also facilitate recruitment for trials dedicated to only rare cancers with international effort [11][12] [13].…”