Intake of selective beta blockers has no impact on survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Some authors have claimed a significant impact of ß-blocking agents on outcome in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). This study investigated the impact of concurrent medication with selective beta blockers (SBB) in patients undergoing primary treatment for EOC. METHODS: The study included all consecutive patients with primary EOC treated in two tertiary gynecological-oncologic units between 1999 and 2014. Medication was retrospectively analyzed by chart review. RESULTS: The study cohort comprised 801 patients, of whom 141 (17.6%) had received SBB. Median age of patients without SBB medication was 56years (range: 19-90years) and 64years (range: 41-84years) in patients taking SBB (p<0.001). The main prognostic factor FIGO stage did not differ between both cohorts. 63.8% of patients taking SBB underwent complete tumor resection compared to 74.2% of patients without SBB (p=0.012). Patients without SBB experienced less severe post-operative complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification (18.8% vs 29.0%; p=0.003). Between the both groups without and with SBB intake, PFS and OS did not differ significantly (PFS: 27months and 24months, p=0.40; OS: 56months and 44, p=0.15). Multivariate analyses did not yield any association between SBB intake and prognosis but confirmed well-known prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: Intake of selective ß-blockers did not influence the prognosis of patients with EOC.

Cell-free tumor DNA, CA125 and HE4 for the objective assessment of tumor burden in patients with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: The present prospective study aimed at determining the impact of cell-free tumor DNA (ct-DNA), CA125 and HE4 from blood and ascites for quantification of tumor burden in patients with advanced high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from tumor FFPE and ct-DNA from plasma before surgery and on subsequent post-surgical days. Extracted DNA was subjected to hybrid-capture based next generation sequencing. Blood and ascites were sampled before surgery and on subsequent post-surgical days. 20 patients (10 undergoing complete resection (TR0), 10 undergoing incomplete resection (TR>0)) were included. RESULTS: The minor allele frequency (MAF) of TP53 mutations in ct-DNA of all patients with TR0 decreased significantly, compared to only one patient with TR>0. It was not possible to distinguish between patients with TR0 and patients with TR>0, using CA125 and HE4 from blood and ascites. CONCLUSIONS: Based upon the present findings, ct-DNA assessment in patients with high-grade serous EOC might help to better determine disease burden compared to standard tumor markers. Further studies should prospectively evaluate whether this enhancement of accuracy can help to optimize management of patients with EOC.