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167426 tn?1254086235

Urine test for OVCA new

found this article in google search  sorry it iss so long  but it sounds so good.

Ovarian Cancer Test Could Save Lives by Detecting Deadly Illness in Stage One


     TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 3, 2007) – An aggressive, silent killer of women could soon be caught and identified much faster thanks to new technology developed at the University of South Florida.
     The USF Division of Patents & Licensing has recently entered into a strategic partnership with Largo, FL.-based GeoPharma, Inc. to advance a critical development in the area of women’s health. GeoPharma signed an agreement last week with the USF Research Foundation to acquire worldwide patent rights of a test for early detection of ovarian cancer using a patient’s urine sample. Valerie McDevitt, director of the Division of Patents and Licensing for the USF Research Park, said she looks forward to partnering with GeoPharma.
     “We’re very excited,” McDevitt said. “It’s a local company so we’re hoping for good things. We want to support local businesses. This could help large numbers of women and it is part of USF President Judy Genshaft’s mission to promote biotech at USF.”
     Kotha Sekharam, president of GeoPharma, said he enjoyed dealing with USF and that they “came very fast” to an agreement on licensing the test.  
     Sekharam said that ovarian cancer is often called a “silent killer” because of vague symptoms that are unnoticed until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. The most deadly of all gynecological cancers, ovarian cancer is also the most curable with early detection.
     “An ovarian cancer diagnostic test with (a) high reliability, (b) ease of use and (c) detection at an early stage could save thousands of women from untimely deaths. Our technology could offer significant help in this direction” he said.  
     With a five-year survival rate of only about 35 percent, the National Cancer Institute estimates 15,280 women in the US will die from ovarian cancer in 2007.
     When ovarian cancer spreads from the pelvis, less than 30 percent of patients survive long-term. When it is limited to the ovaries, 90 percent of patients can be cured. Currently early stage diagnosis occurs in only 20 percent of the ovarian cancer cases.
     Dr. Patricia Kruk (shown in photo at right), who developed the test at USF and is an affiliate at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, has long wanted to find a way to catch the disease in its early stages.
     “My interest has always been to identify some of the early changes to ovarian epithelial cells that cause them to become malignant,” Kruk said.
     Ovarian cancer “doesn’t get nearly as much press as other women’s cancers, but it is the most lethal gynecological cancer,” Kruk added. “There are almost no symptoms and there is no screening test for it. Unfortunately, if it was detected when the disease has not spread beyond the ovary, you could remove the ovary and significantly improve patient survival.”
     Currently, there is no approved test for early detection of ovarian cancer. The only ovarian cancer diagnostic test is the CA-125 blood test that is approved by FDA to monitor progression of the disease. For best accuracy, CA-125 test is done with other physical tests like transvaginal sonography and pelvic examination.
     Preliminary clinical studies have been conducted at USF and further studies are under progress. GeoPharma will initiate necessary steps for FDA approval.


                                                                      

              

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167426 tn?1254086235
Ovarian cancer -- often an aggressive, silent killer of women -- could soon be diagnosed much faster with new technology developed at the University of South Florida.

  
GeoPharma, a Florida-based firm, has acquired worldwide patent rights from the university's research foundation for a test for early detection of ovarian cancer using a patient's urine sample.
Right now, there's no reliable early detection screening test for it, and almost no symptoms exist.
GeoPharma's president said a diagnostic test that's reliable, easy to use and that detects the cancer early could save thousands of women's lives every year. The firm is seeking federal approval of the urine test.
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272338 tn?1252280404
  Would't that be great!! They also make several good points in there about ov ca in general. It would be so nice to know that one day we would finally be able to tame this beast. Chris
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187799 tn?1219609573
This would be wonderful.  However, the article is, once again, stating that this is a "silent" disease.  Once again I say, it is not silent - doctors are deaf!  From reading for almost a year all of the posts on this forum, there are plenty of early symptoms, vague or not, we women know when something is amiss with our bodies.  Thanks for passing along the article though; it is a step in the right direction definitely!
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329994 tn?1301663248
Wouldn't this be wonderful if found to work!  I read everyone's posts while still trying to find out what is wrong with me and you see such a common thread - pats on the head from doctors saying not to worry, ultrasounds that say "oh it's just a cyst - let's wait to see - then find out later, you have cancer", to blood tests that come back normal when you actually have OVAC - I find it very frustrating that so many women have to push and push because they KNOW something is wrong, but there is no definitive test for this horrible disease. (and doctors don't listen!).  Maybe this is a step in the right direction - let's hope so!
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