Key points 1. Cancer is not always inherited, but it is always genetic. 2. The inherited aspect of cancer always needs to be considered and appropriate counseling and testing arranged. 3. Genetic counseling and testing need to be an integral…
In 1893, William Bradley Coley reported the case of a German immigrant with a neck sarcoma that was deemed inoperable and yet disappeared after an erysipelas infection ). Coley hypothesized that the immune response provoked by the bacterial infection led…
Key points 1. Malignant cells develop from molecular abnormalities in growth control. 2. The molecular abnormalities are in one or more of 10 key pathways. 3. These altered pathways provide important targets for new therapeutic agents. 4. Angiogenesis, PARP, immunologic…
Key points 1. The development of new and effective therapies should be rooted in a clear understanding of tumor biology. 2. Bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody to human vascular endothelial growth factor, was the first US Food and Drug Administration–approved…
Key points 1. In malignant tumors, unregulated growth appears to result from a combination of loss of normal cell cycle controls and a failure of normal apoptotic mechanisms. Despite uncontrolled growth, malignant cell division does not appear to be more…
Key points 1. Women with gynecologic cancers can have significant complications from their cancer and/or treatments. 2. Vaginal bleeding is usually controlled with packing although arterial embolization may be needed to control severe hemorrhage. 3. Ureteral obstruction can be treated…
Key points 1. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database indicate that cancers during the reproductive ages, in order of decreasing frequency are breast, melanoma, thyroid, cervix, and lymphoma. 2. The most critical period for cancer treatment during…
Key points 1. Women who present with a breast mass require triple assessment , which comprises physical examination, breast imaging with mammography and ultrasound, and pathologic or cytologic evaluation. Discordant results require further investigation and careful follow-up. 2. Breast cancer…
Key points 1. Germ cell tumors are arise from primordial germ cells of embryonic gonad and sex-stromal derivatives. 2. Most germ cell tumors are found in the second and third decades of life. 3. Surgery is the preferred initial approach…
Key points 1. Ovarian cancer is the most lethal of all gynecologic cancers. Elderly women are more likely to develop ovarian cancer than are young women. 2. Oral contraceptives decrease the incidence of ovarian cancer substantially. 3. Ovarian cancer may…