News Release

January 4, 2006

Contact: Maureen McGuire, 860-679-4523
e-mail: mmcguire@nso.uchc.edu

Promising Study on Ovarian Cancer Treatment Merits Further Investigation, According to UConn Expert

Reaction from Dr. Carolyn D. Runowicz, Director of the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at UConn Health Center and President of the American Cancer Society

FARMINGTON, CONN. – A promising study in today’s New England Journal of Medicine about improving survival rates for women with advanced stage ovarian cancer is good news for patients and worthy of further investigation through clinical trials, said Carolyn D. Runowicz, M.D., director of the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center and President of the American Cancer Society.

The study reports that women who received a specific type and dosage of chemotherapy that was administered directly into the abdomen lining – a procedure known as intraperitoneal (IP) therapy – had improved survival rates over women receiving traditional therapies. The study was published by the Gynecologic Oncology Group. The authors, however, were careful to note that the study also raises questions about what drugs work best, and whether women with earlier stage cancer also would benefit from IP therapy.

“These questions can only be answered through clinical trials,” said Dr. Runowicz, who is a nationally recognized expert in gynecologic oncology and is experienced with IP therapy. “Women who want IP therapy should either enroll in a clinical trial or get one of the regimens that have been proven to increase survival, like the one described in the study,” she said, noting that the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center offers IP therapy to patients, as described in the study.

“We’re making marked advances in the understanding of cancer that will translate into better therapies, so if you can stay alive longer, you have a better chance of getting one of these new treatments in the pipeline," Dr. Runowicz said. "If it were me, I'd choose IP therapy as the initial therapy, since this study showed such a marked improvement in survival."

For more information about the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, visit http://cancer.uchc.edu.

The University of Connecticut Health Center includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, John Dempsey Hospital, the UConn Medical Group and University Dentists. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. To learn more about the UConn Health Center, visit our website at www.uchc.edu.

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