Integrative multi-omics analyses to identify the genetic and functional mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer risk regions.

To identify credible causal risk variants (CCVs) associated with different histotypes of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), we performed genome-wide association analysis for 470,825 genotyped and 10,163,797 imputed SNPs in 25,981 EOC cases and 105,724 controls of European origin. We identified five histotype-specific EOC risk regions (p value <5 × 10-8) and confirmed previously reported associations for 27 risk regions. Conditional analyses identified an additional 11 signals independent of the primary signal at six risk regions (p value <10-5). Fine mapping identified 4,008 CCVs in these regions, of which 1,452 CCVs were located in ovarian cancer-related chromatin marks with significant enrichment in active enhancers, active promoters, and active regions for CCVs from each EOC histotype. Transcriptome-wide association and colocalization analyses across histotypes using tissue-specific and cross-tissue datasets identified 86 candidate susceptibility genes in known EOC risk regions and 32 genes in 23 additional genomic regions that may represent novel EOC risk loci (false discovery rate <0.05). Finally, by integrating genome-wide HiChIP interactome analysis with transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS), variant effect predictor, transcription factor ChIP-seq, and motifbreakR data, we identified candidate gene-CCV interactions at each locus. This included risk loci where TWAS identified one or more candidate susceptibility genes (e.g., HOXD-AS2, HOXD8, and HOXD3 at 2q31) and other loci where no candidate gene was identified (e.g., MYC and PVT1 at 8q24) by TWAS. In summary, this study describes a functional framework and provides a greater understanding of the biological significance of risk alleles and candidate gene targets at EOC susceptibility loci identified by a genome-wide association study.

Mathematical modeling of the evolution of resistance and aggressiveness of high-grade serous ovarian cancer from patient CA-125 time series.

A time-series analysis of serum Cancer Antigen 125 (CA-125) levels was performed in 791 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) from the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study to evaluate the development of chemoresistance and response to therapy. To investigate chemoresistance and better predict the treatment effectiveness, we examined two traits: resistance (defined as the rate of CA-125 change when patients were treated with therapy) and aggressiveness (defined as the rate of CA-125 change when patients were not treated). We found that as the number of treatment lines increases, the data-based resistance increases (a decreased rate of CA-125 decay). We use mathematical models of two distinct cancer cell types, treatment-sensitive cells and treatment-resistant cells, to estimate the values and evolution of the two traits in individual patients. By fitting to individual patient HGSOC data, our models successfully capture the dynamics of the CA-125 level. The parameters estimated from the mathematical models show that patients with inferred low growth rates of treatment-sensitive cells and treatment-resistant cells (low model-estimated aggressiveness) and a high death rate of treatment-resistant cells (low model-estimated resistance) have longer survival time after completing their second-line of therapy. These findings show that mathematical models can characterize the degree of resistance and aggressiveness in individual patients, which improves our understanding of chemoresistance development and could predict treatment effectiveness in HGSOC patients.

Genome-wide association analyses of ovarian cancer patients undergoing primary debulking surgery identify candidate genes for residual disease.

Survival from ovarian cancer depends on the resection status after primary surgery. We performed genome-wide association analyses for resection status of 7705 ovarian cancer patients, including 4954 with high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSOC), to identify variants associated with residual disease. The most significant association with resection status was observed for rs72845444, upstream of MGMT, in HGSOC (p = 3.9 × 10-8). In gene-based analyses, PPP2R5C was the most strongly associated gene in HGSOC after stage adjustment. In an independent set of 378 ovarian tumours from the AGO-OVAR 11 study, variants near MGMT and PPP2R5C correlated with methylation and transcript levels, and PPP2R5C mRNA levels predicted progression-free survival in patients with residual disease. MGMT encodes a DNA repair enzyme, and PPP2R5C encodes the B56γ subunit of the PP2A tumour suppressor. Our results link heritable variation at these two loci with resection status in HGSOC.

Large-scale genome-wide association study of 398,238 women unveils seven novel loci associated with high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer risk.

Background: Nineteen genomic regions have been associated with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). We used data from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC), Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/BRCA2 (CIMBA), UK Biobank (UKBB), and FinnGen to identify novel HGSOC susceptibility loci and develop polygenic scores (PGS). Methods: We analyzed >22 million variants for 398,238 women. Associations were assessed separately by consortium and meta-analysed. OCAC and CIMBA data were used to develop PGS which were trained on FinnGen data and validated in UKBB and BioBank Japan. Results: Eight novel variants were associated with HGSOC risk. An interesting discovery biologically was finding that TP53 3'-UTR SNP rs78378222 was associated with HGSOC (per T allele relative risk (RR)=1.44, 95%CI:1.28-1.62, P=1.76×10-9). The optimal PGS included 64,518 variants and was associated with an odds ratio of 1.46 (95%CI:1.37-1.54) per standard deviation in the UKBB validation (AUROC curve=0.61, 95%CI:0.59-0.62). Conclusions: This study represents the largest GWAS for HGSOC to date. The results highlight that improvements in imputation reference panels and increased sample sizes can identify HGSOC associated variants that previously went undetected, resulting in improved PGS. The use of updated PGS in cancer risk prediction algorithms will then improve personalized risk prediction for HGSOC.

Mucinous ovarian carcinoma: A survey of practice in Australia and New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: Mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) is a rare ovarian cancer with limited evidence to support clinical care. AIMS: We undertook a clinician survey to better understand current practice in treating MOC in Australia and New Zealand, and to determine any features associated with variation in care. In addition, we aimed to understand future research priorities. METHODS: A RedCap survey was distributed to clinician members of the Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG). Questions included respondent demographics, three case studies and future research priorities. Clinicians were asked questions specific to their speciality. RESULTS: Respondents (n = 47) were commonly experienced gynae-oncology specialists, most often surgical (38%) or medical (30%) oncologists. There was good consensus for surgical approaches for stage I disease; however, variation in practice was noted for advanced or recurrent MOC. Variation was also observed for medical oncologists; in early-stage disease there was no clear consensus on whether to offer chemotherapy, or which regimen to recommend. For advanced and recurrent disease a wide range of chemotherapy options was considered, with a trend away from an ovarian-type toward gastrointestinal (GI)-type regimens in advanced MOC. This practice was reflected in future research priorities, with 'Is a GI chemotherapy regimen better than an ovarian regimen?' the most highly ranked option, followed by 'Should stage 1C patients receive chemotherapy?' CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of respondents limited the analyses, it was clear that chemotherapy selection was a key point of divergence for medical oncologists. Future research is needed to establish well-evidenced guidelines for clinical care of MOC.

Small-scale mutations are infrequent as mechanisms of resistance in post-PARP inhibitor tumour samples in high grade serous ovarian cancer.

While the introduction of poly-(ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors in homologous recombination DNA repair (HR) deficient high grade serous ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers (HGSC) has improved patient survival, resistance to PARP inhibitors frequently occurs. Preclinical and translational studies have identified multiple mechanisms of resistance; here we examined tumour samples collected from 26 women following treatment with PARP inhibitors as part of standard of care or their enrolment in clinical trials. Twenty-one had a germline or somatic BRCA1/2 mutation. We performed targeted sequencing of 63 genes involved in DNA repair processes or implicated in ovarian cancer resistance. We found that just three individuals had a small-scale mutation as a definitive resistance mechanism detected, having reversion mutations, while six had potential mechanisms of resistance detected, with alterations related to BRCA1 function and mutations in SHLD2. This study indicates that mutations in genes related to DNA repair are detected in a minority of HGSC patients as genetic mechanisms of resistance. Future research into resistance in HGSC should focus on copy number, transcriptional and epigenetic aberrations, and the contribution of the tumour microenvironment.

Follow-up assessment of sleep-related symptoms in patients after treatment for cancer: responses to continuous positive airway pressure treatment for co-morbid obstructive sleep apnoea.

PURPOSE: To assess changes in sleep-related symptoms in patients with breast cancer, endometrial cancer and melanoma previously examined for sleep-related symptoms and the presence of PSG (polysomnography)-determined OSA, ≥ 3 years post-treatment; and to evaluate how CPAP treatment affects sleep-related symptoms in patients previously diagnosed with OSA. METHODS: Patients initially recruited from breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and melanoma follow-up clinics at Westmead Hospital (Sydney, Australia) participated in this questionnaire-based study. Demographic and change in cancer status data were collected at follow-up. Patients completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [poor sleep quality, PSQITOTAL ≥ 5au], Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire; with ΔPSQITOTAL ≥ 3au indicating a clinically meaningful change in sleep quality over follow-up. PSG-determined OSA was confirmed using the apnoea-hypopnoea index. CPAP compliance was determined via self-report (CPAP compliant, CPAP; not compliant, non-CPAP). Logistic regression models determined if changes in cancer status, AHI, cancer subgroup or CPAP treatment was predictive of ΔPSQITOTAL ≥ 3 au and p < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. RESULTS: The 60 patients recruited had breast cancer (n = 22), endometrial cancer (n = 15), and melanoma (n = 23). Cancer subgroups were similarly aged, and all had median follow-up PSQITOTAL scores ≥ 5au; breast cancer patients scoring the highest (p < 0.05). The CPAP group had significantly reduced PSQITOTAL scores (p = 0.02) at follow-up, unlike the non-CPAP group. Cancer subgroups had similar median ISITOTAL, ESSTOTAL and FOSQ-10TOTAL scores at follow-up, regardless of CPAP treatment. There were no significant predictors of ΔPSQITOTAL ≥ 3 au at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Sleep-related symptoms persist in patients with cancer ≥ 3 years after treatment, although these symptoms improve with CPAP. Future studies should evaluate how CPAP affects survival outcomes in cancer patients with comorbid OSA.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors in ovarian cancer: where do we go from here?

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynaecological malignancy, and despite advancements in therapeutics, most women unfortunately still succumb to their disease. Immunotherapies, in particular immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), have been therapeutically transformative in many tumour types, including gynaecological malignancies such as cervical and endometrial cancer. Unfortunately, these therapeutic successes have not been mirrored in ovarian cancer clinical studies. This review provides an overview of the ovarian tumour microenvironment (TME), particularly factors associated with survival, and explores current research into immunotherapeutic strategies in EOC, with an exploratory focus on novel therapeutics in navigating drug resistance.

The Prognostic Effect of Immune Cell Infiltration Depends on Molecular Subtype in Endometrioid Ovarian Carcinomas.

PURPOSE: Endometrioid ovarian carcinoma (ENOC) is the second most-common type of ovarian carcinoma, comprising 10%-20% of cases. Recently, the study of ENOC has benefitted from comparisons to endometrial carcinomas including defining ENOC with four prognostic molecular subtypes. Each subtype suggests differential mechanisms of progression, although tumor-initiating events remain elusive. There is evidence that the ovarian microenvironment may be critical to early lesion establishment and progression. However, while immune infiltrates have been well studied in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, studies in ENOC are limited. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We report on 210 ENOC, with clinical follow-up and molecular subtype annotation. Using multiplex IHC and immunofluorescence, we examine the prevalence of T-cell lineage, B-cell lineage, macrophages, and populations with programmed cell death protein 1 or programmed death-ligand 1 across subtypes of ENOC. RESULTS: Immune cell infiltrates in tumor epithelium and stroma showed higher densities in ENOC subtypes with known high mutation burden (POLEmut and MMRd). While molecular subtypes were prognostically significant, immune infiltrates were not (overall survival P > 0.2). Analysis by molecular subtype revealed that immune cell density was prognostically significant in only the no specific molecular profile (NSMP) subtype, where immune infiltrates lacking B cells (TILB minus) had inferior outcome (disease-specific survival: HR, 4.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-14.7; P < 0.05). Similar to endometrial carcinomas, molecular subtype stratification was generally superior to immune response in predicting outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Subtype stratification is critical for better understanding of ENOC, in particular the distribution and prognostic significance of immune cell infiltrates. The role of B cells in the immune response within NSMP tumors warrants further study.

Clinical parameters affecting survival outcomes in patients with low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma: an international multicentre analysis.

BACKGROUND: Women with low-grade ovarian serous carcinoma (LGSC) benefit from surgical treatment; however, the role of chemotherapy is controversial. We examined an international database through the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium to identify factors that affect survival in LGSC. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with LGSC who had had primary surgery and had overall survival data available. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses of progression-free survival and overall survival, and generated Kaplan-Meier survival curves. RESULTS: Of the 707 patients with LGSC, 680 (96.2%) had available overall survival data. The patients' median age overall was 54 years. Of the 659 patients with International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology stage data, 156 (23.7%) had stage I disease, 64 (9.7%) had stage II, 395 (59.9%) had stage III, and 44 (6.7%) had stage IV. Of the 377 patients with surgical data, 200 (53.0%) had no visible residual disease. Of the 361 patients with chemotherapy data, 330 (91.4%) received first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The median follow-up duration was 5.0 years. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 43.2 months and 110.4 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated a statistically significant impact of stage and residual disease on progression-free survival and overall survival. Platinum-based chemotherapy was not associated with a survival advantage. CONCLUSION: This multicentre analysis indicates that complete surgical cytoreduction to no visible residual disease has the most impact on improved survival in LGSC. This finding could immediately inform and change practice.

Health services costs for ovarian cancer in Australia: Estimates from the 45 and Up Study.

INTRODUCTION: There have been significant advancements in risk identification and treatment for ovarian cancer over the last decade. However, their impact on health services costs is unclear. This study estimated the direct health system costs (government perspective) for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Australia during 2006-2013, as a benchmark prior to opportunities for precision-medicine approaches to treatment, and for health care planning. METHODS: Using cancer registry data, we identified 176 incident ovarian cancers (including fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancer) in the Australian 45 and Up Study cohort. Each case was matched with four cancer-free controls on sex, age, geography, and smoking history. Costs were derived from linked health records on hospitalisations, subsidised prescription medicines and medical services to 2016. Excess costs for cancer cases were estimated for different phases of care relative to cancer diagnosis. Overall costs for prevalent ovarian cancers in Australia in 2013 were estimated based on 5-year prevalence statistics. RESULTS: At diagnosis, 10% of women had localised disease, 15% regional spread and 70% distant metastasis (5% unknown). The mean excess cost per ovarian cancer case was $40,556 in the initial treatment phase (≤12 months post-diagnosis), $9,514 per annum in the continuing care phase and $49,208 in the terminal phase (up to 12 months before death). Hospital admissions accounted for the greatest proportion of costs during all phases (66%, 52% and 68% respectively). Excess costs were higher for patients diagnosed with distant metastatic disease, particularly during the continuing care phase ($13,814 versus $4,884 for localised/regional disease). The estimated overall direct health services cost of ovarian cancer in 2013 was AUD$99million (4,700 women nationally). CONCLUSION: The excess health system costs of ovarian cancer are substantial. Continued investment in ovarian cancer research, particularly prevention, early detection and more effective personalised treatments is necessary to reduce the burden of disease.

BRCA1 secondary splice-site mutations drive exon-skipping and PARP inhibitor resistance.

BRCA1 splice isoforms Δ11 and Δ11q can contribute to PARP inhibitor (PARPi) resistance by splicing-out the mutation-containing exon, producing truncated, partially-functional proteins. However, the clinical impact and underlying drivers of BRCA1 exon skipping remain undetermined. We analyzed nine ovarian and breast cancer patient derived xenografts (PDX) with BRCA1 exon 11 frameshift mutations for exon skipping and therapy response, including a matched PDX pair derived from a patient pre- and post-chemotherapy/PARPi. BRCA1 exon 11 skipping was elevated in PARPi resistant PDX tumors. Two independent PDX models acquired secondary BRCA1 splice site mutations (SSMs), predicted in silico to drive exon skipping. Predictions were confirmed using qRT-PCR, RNA sequencing, western blots and BRCA1 minigene modelling. SSMs were also enriched in post-PARPi ovarian cancer patient cohorts from the ARIEL2 and ARIEL4 clinical trials. We demonstrate that SSMs drive BRCA1 exon 11 skipping and PARPi resistance, and should be clinically monitored, along with frame-restoring secondary mutations.

Common analgesics and ovarian cancer survival: the Ovarian cancer Prognosis And Lifestyle (OPAL) Study.

BACKGROUND: Most women with ovarian cancer (OC) are diagnosed with advanced disease. They often experience recurrence after primary treatment, and their subsequent prognosis is poor. Our goal was to evaluate the association between use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including regular and low-dose aspirin, and 5-year cancer-specific survival after an OC diagnosis. METHODS: The Ovarian cancer Prognosis And Lifestyle study is a prospective population-based cohort of 958 Australian women with OC. Information was gathered through self-completed questionnaires. We classified NSAID use during the year prediagnosis and postdiagnosis as none or occasional (<1 d/wk), infrequent (1-3 d/wk), and frequent (≥4 d/wk) use. We measured survival from the start of primary treatment: surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy for analyses of prediagnosis use, or 12 months after starting treatment (postdiagnosis use) until the earliest of date of death from OC (other deaths were censored) or last follow-up to 5 years. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and applied inverse-probability of treatment weighting to minimize confounding. We also calculated restricted mean survival times. RESULTS: Compared with nonusers and infrequent users, we observed better survival associated with frequent NSAID use prediagnosis (HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.55 to 0.97) or postdiagnosis (HR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.94). Estimates were similar for aspirin and nonaspirin NSAIDs, new and continuous users and in weighted models. These differences would translate to a 2.5-month increase in mean survival by 5 years postdiagnosis. There was no association with acetaminophen. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm a previous study suggesting NSAID use might improve OC survival.

Older age should not be a barrier to testing for somatic variants in homologous recombination DNA repair-related genes in patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Somatic pathogenic variants (PVs) in homologous recombination DNA repair (HR)-related genes found in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSC) are not well-characterised in older patients (≥70 years). This may reflect low testing rates in older patients. METHODS: Data from 1210 HGSC patients in AACR Project GENIE and 324 patients in an independent dataset INOVATe were analysed. Cases where somatic variants could be distinguished from germline variants were included, and analysis was restricted to those with a somatic TP53 variant, to ensure cases were HGSC. RESULTS: Of 1210 patients in GENIE, 27% (n = 325) were aged ≥70 years at testing. Patients with somatic-only PVs in BRCA2 were older compared with BRCA1 (median 71 vs 60 years, p = 0.002). Median age for 21 patients with somatic-only PVs in 11 other HR-related genes ranged from 40 to 67 years. In older patients, 7% (n = 22) had somatic BRCA1/2 PVs, and 1% (n = 2) had PVs other HR-related genes; this rate was not significantly different to younger patients (<70 years), 7% (n = 62) BRCA1/2 and 2% (n = 19) other HR-related genes (p = 0.36). The overall frequency of somatic BRCA1/2 PVs was similar in INOVATe (n = 25; 7.7%) and somatic-only BRCA2 PVs were again found in older patients compared with BRCA1 (median age: at testing, 70 vs 63 years; at diagnosis, 68 vs 60 years). CONCLUSIONS: The overall frequency of somatic-only PVs in HR-related genes was similar in older and younger patients with HGSC, highlighting the importance of somatic testing irrespective of age. Limiting somatic testing by age may exclude patients who could benefit from maintenance poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

Immune and genomic biomarkers of immunotherapy response in cancer of unknown primary.

BACKGROUND: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous group of metastatic cancers where a primary tissue of origin (TOO) is uncertain. Most patients with CUP have limited treatment options and poor survival outcomes. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be efficacious in some patients with CUP, but the optimal predictive biomarkers are unknown. We therefore assessed immune and genomic biomarkers as well as predicted TOO in patients with CUP, including a subset treated with ICIs. METHODS: Patients with CUP were subject to gene-expression profiling (GEP) and DNA panel sequencing. Immune and stromal-related gene expression was explored by NanoString, including genes associated with immunotherapy response (IR) in other solid malignancies. ICI responsive cancer types were assigned based on Food and Drug Administration-approved indications, and either detection of a latent primary tumor or the TOO was suspected based on genomics informed pathology review. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) and gene mutations were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 219 patients with CUP were included, 215 assessed for TOO in a previous study, with the majority (163) receiving both RNA and DNA tests. Of GEP profiled cases, 33% (59/175) had a high IR gene-expression score. Of the DNA sequenced cases, 16% (32/203) had high TMB (>10 mutations/Mb), including two with mismatch repair deficiency. Low correlation was observed between TMB and an IR score (R=0.26, p<0.001). Among 110 CUPs with a latent primary or suspected TOO, 47% (52/110) belonged to ICI-responsive cancer types. More than half of the CUPs had at least one feature that may predict ICI response (high IR score, high TMB, ICI-responsive cancer type). Among patients with CUP treated with ICIs, 8/28 (29%) responded (2 complete responses and 6 partial responses). Among non-responders, 9 had stable and 11 had progressive disease. All responders had a high IR score (7/8) and/or high TMB (3/8), while most (5/8) belonged to ICI-responsive cancer types. These features were detected at a lower frequency in non-responders and mostly in patients with stable disease. CONCLUSIONS: A significant fraction of CUP tumors had genomic features previously associated with ICI response. High IR score was the most sensitive predictive feature of ICI response, warranting evaluation in a larger patient series.

Screening for obstructive sleep apnoea in post-treatment cancer patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: For cancer patients, comorbid obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) poses additional risk to their surgical/anaesthetic outcomes, quality of life, and survival. However, OSA screening is not well-established in oncology settings. We tested two screening tools (STOP-Bang questionnaire [SBQ] and the at-home monitoring device, ApneaLink™Air), for predicting polysomnography (PSG) confirmed OSA in post-treatment cancer patients. METHODS: Breast (n = 56), endometrial (n = 37) and melanoma patients (n = 50) were recruited from follow-up clinics at Westmead Hospital (Sydney, Australia). All underwent overnight PSG, 137 completed SBQ, and 99 completed ApneaLink™Air. Positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values for PSG-determined moderate-to-severe OSA and severe OSA, were calculated using an SBQ threshold ≥3 au and ApneaLink™Air apnoea-hypopnea index thresholds of ≥10, ≥15 and ≥30 events/h. RESULTS: Both SBQ and ApneaLink™Air had high NPVs (92.7% and 85.2%-95.6% respectively) for severe OSA, but NPVs were lower for moderate-to-severe OSA (69.1% and 59.1%-75.5%, respectively). PPV for both tools were relatively low (all <73%). Combining both tools did not improve screening performance. CONCLUSIONS: These screening tools may help identify cancer patients without severe OSA, but both are limited in identifying those with moderate-to-severe or severe OSA. PSG remains optimal for adequately identifying and managing comorbid OSA in cancer patients.

Pathways to diagnosis of endometrial and ovarian cancer in the 45 and Up Study cohort.

PURPOSE: To determine pathways to endometrial or ovarian cancer diagnosis by comparing health service utilization between cancer cases and matched cancer-free controls, using linked health records. METHODS: From cancer registry records, we identified 238 incident endometrial and 167 ovarian cancer cases diagnosed during 2006-2013 in the Australian 45 and Up Study cohort (142,973 female participants). Each case was matched to four cancer-free controls on birthdate, sex, place of residence, smoking status, and body mass index. The use of relevant health services during the 13-18-, 7-12-, 0-6-, and 0-1-months pre-diagnosis for cases and the corresponding dates for their matched controls was determined through linkage with subsidized medical services and hospital records. RESULTS: Healthcare utilization diverged between women with cancer and controls in the 0-6-months, particularly 0-1 months, pre-diagnosis. In the 0-1 months, 74.8% of endometrial and 50.3% of ovarian cases visited a gynecologist/gynecological oncologist, 11.3% and 59.3% had a CA125 test, 5.5% and 48.5% an abdominal pelvic CT scan, and 34.5% and 30.5% a transvaginal pelvic ultrasound, respectively (versus ≤ 1% of matched controls). Moreover, 25.1% of ovarian cancer cases visited an emergency department in the 0-1-months pre-diagnosis (versus 1.3% of matched controls), and GP visits were significantly more common for cases than controls in this period. CONCLUSION: Most women with endometrial or ovarian cancer accessed recommended specialists and tests in the 0-1-months pre-diagnosis, but a high proportion of women with ovarian cancer visited an emergency department. This reinforces the importance of timely specialist referral.

Lifestyle and personal factors associated with having macroscopic residual disease after ovarian cancer primary cytoreductive surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The presence of macroscopic residual disease after primary cytoreductive surgery (PCS) is an important factor influencing survival for patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC). More research is needed to identify factors associated with having macroscopic residual disease. We analyzed 12 lifestyle and personal exposures known to be related to ovarian cancer risk or inflammation to identify those associated with having residual disease after surgery. METHODS: This analysis used data on 2054 patients with advanced stage HGSC from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. The exposures were body mass index, breastfeeding, oral contraceptive use, depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate use, endometriosis, first-degree family history of ovarian cancer, incomplete pregnancy, menopausal hormone therapy use, menopausal status, parity, smoking, and tubal ligation. Logistic regression models were fit to assess the association between these exposures and having residual disease following PCS. RESULTS: Menopausal estrogen-only therapy (ET) use was associated with 33% lower odds of having macroscopic residual disease compared to never use (OR = 0.67, 95%CI 0.46-0.97, p = 0.033). Compared to nulliparous women, parous women who did not breastfeed had 36% lower odds of having residual disease (OR = 0.64, 95%CI 0.43-0.94, p = 0.022), while there was no association among parous women who breastfed (OR = 0.90, 95%CI 0.65-1.25, p = 0.53). CONCLUSIONS: The association between ET and having no macroscopic residual disease is plausible given a strong underlying biologic hypothesis between this exposure and diagnosis with HGSC. If this or the parity finding is replicated, these factors could be included in risk stratification models to determine whether HGSC patients should receive PCS or neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

A comparison of DNA sequencing and gene expression profiling to assist tissue of origin diagnosis in cancer of unknown primary.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a syndrome defined by clinical absence of a primary cancer after standardised investigations. Gene expression profiling (GEP) and DNA sequencing have been used to predict primary tissue of origin (TOO) in CUP and find molecularly guided treatments; however, a detailed comparison of the diagnostic yield from these two tests has not been described. Here, we compared the diagnostic utility of RNA and DNA tests in 215 CUP patients (82% received both tests) in a prospective Australian study. Based on retrospective assessment of clinicopathological data, 77% (166/215) of CUPs had insufficient evidence to support TOO diagnosis (clinicopathology unresolved). The remainder had either a latent primary diagnosis (10%) or clinicopathological evidence to support a likely TOO diagnosis (13%) (clinicopathology resolved). We applied a microarray (CUPGuide) or custom NanoString 18-class GEP test to 191 CUPs with an accuracy of 91.5% in known metastatic cancers for high-medium confidence predictions. Classification performance was similar in clinicopathology-resolved CUPs - 80% had high-medium predictions and 94% were concordant with pathology. Notably, only 56% of the clinicopathology-unresolved CUPs had high-medium confidence GEP predictions. Diagnostic DNA features were interrogated in 201 CUP tumours guided by the cancer type specificity of mutations observed across 22 cancer types from the AACR Project GENIE database (77,058 tumours) as well as mutational signatures (e.g. smoking). Among the clinicopathology-unresolved CUPs, mutations and mutational signatures provided additional diagnostic evidence in 31% of cases. GEP classification was useful in only 13% of cases and oncoviral detection in 4%. Among CUPs where genomics informed TOO, lung and biliary cancers were the most frequently identified types, while kidney tumours were another identifiable subset. In conclusion, DNA and RNA profiling supported an unconfirmed TOO diagnosis in one-third of CUPs otherwise unresolved by clinicopathology assessment alone. DNA mutation profiling was the more diagnostically informative assay. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Contrasting clinical characteristics and treatment patterns in women with newly diagnosed advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer in Australia, South Korea and Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE: The real-world INFORM study analyzed sociodemographics, treatment patterns and clinical outcomes for patients with newly diagnosed advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in Australia, South Korea (S.Korea) and Taiwan preceding incorporation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors into clinical practice. METHODS: Retrospective data from patients diagnosed with EOC (high-grade serous EOC for Taiwan) between January 2014 and December 2018 with ≥12 months follow-up from diagnosis were analyzed descriptively. Survival was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier with two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Of the 987 patients (Australia, 223; S.Korea, 513; Taiwan, 251), 98% received platinum-based chemotherapy (CT). In S.Korea and Taiwan 76.0% and 78.9% respectively underwent primary cytoreductive surgery; in Australia, 56.5% had interval debulking surgery. Bevacizumab was included in primary/maintenance therapy for 22.4%, 14.6% and 6.8% of patients in Australia, S.Korea and Taiwan, respectively. Patients receiving bevacizumab were high-risk (reimbursement policy) and achieved similar real-world progression-free survival (PFS) compared with CT only. Overall, the median real-world PFS (months; 95% CI) was similar across Australia (16.0 [14.63-18.08]), S.Korea (17.7 [16.18-19.27]) and Taiwan (19.1 [17.56-22.29]). CONCLUSION: This study reveals poor prognosis despite differences in demographics and treatment patterns for patients with EOC across Asia-Pacific suggesting the need for biomarker-driven novel therapies to improve outcomes.