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IJGC Podcast
The International Journal of Gynecological Cancer (IJGC) podcast explores the latest research on detection, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of gynecologic malignancies. Enjoy interviews with leading experts as they discuss novel and relevant topics in the field of gynecologic cancer. Join Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez and his guests for an interactive and educational experience. Subscribe now or listen on your favourite podcast platform. IJGC - ijgc.bmj.com - is the official journal of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society and the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology.
Episodes
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Friday Oct 28, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Jonathan Ledermann to discuss ICON8-Overall Survival. Jonathan Ledermann is a professor of medical oncology and Clinical Director at UCL Cancer Institute specializing in the treatment and research of gynaecological malignancies. He has led several national and international trials on the treatment of ovarian cancer and has played a key role in developing trials of PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer. He is the ESMO Gynaecological Cancer Practice Guidelines Editor and past Vice President of ESGO. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Senior Investigator for the National Institute of Health Research in the UK.
Highlights:
- Weekly first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer does not improve progression-free or overall survival.
- ICON8 was the largest randomized trial exploring weekly paclitaxel or weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel compared to tri-weekly chemotherapy.
- There is no evidence to suggest that weekly first-line chemotherapy should be used as part of multimodal treatment of newly diagnosed ovarian cancer.
- The results in a predominately European population differ from a similar Japanese trial, raising the possibility that genetic or pharmacogenomic differences need to be considered when comparing the results of trials in ovarian cancer.
Monday Oct 24, 2022
Monday Oct 24, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Professor María Kyrgiou to discuss Cervical Conization Dimensions: 2022 Consensus Recommendations. Professor Mara Kyrgiou is a Professor at Imperial College London and a Consultant Surgeon in Gynaecology and Gynaecological Oncology at the West London Gynaecological Cancer Centre, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust. She is the Head of Section of Gynaecological Oncology at Imperial College London. Her main clinical interest is minimal access and complex gynaecological cancer surgery.
Highlights:
- Local treatment techniques for cervical pre-invasive and early invasive disease were previously thought to be interchangeable with regards to treatment failure rates and associated with minor and infrequent complications.
- The findings of a network metaanalysis (Athanasiou Lancet Oncology 2022) suggest that more aggressive treatments (i.e., CKC, laser conisation) are associated with lower recurrence rates but higher risk for subsequent preterm birth.
- The risk of reproductive morbidity is directly associated with the length of the cone.
- This paper by ESGO/EFC/IFCPC describes a consensus terminology of the cone dimensions to make studies addressing effectiveness and safety of SIL/CIN treatment comparable and facilitate their use to tailor surveillance and antenatal management.
- The 2022 terminology should replace all previous terminologies, which will facilitate communication between clinicians and foster tailored treatment guidelines that balance obstetrical harm against therapeutic effectiveness.
- Universal agreed reporting will further facilitate communications among clinicians and pathologists, promote audit of practice and future research, and improve the quality of future meta-analyses.
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Monday Oct 17, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Nadeem Abu-Rustum. Dr. Abu-Rustum is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist who specializes in the surgical treatment of gynecologic cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Abu-Rustum has a special interest in minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) for the treatment of cancerous and noncancerous diseases of the female reproductive system, and his clinical research focuses on surgical therapy for gynecologic cancers and innovative surgical approaches to treating gynecologic disorders.
Highlights:
- The journey of being a gynecologic oncologist is incredibly rewarding.
- Focus your research on areas that are meaningful to you.
- Question traditional surgical principles that you believe can be improved upon.
- Be grateful to all the people who worked with you and helped make you the person you have become.
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Monday Oct 10, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Drs. Jean-Marc Classe and Florence Joly to discuss the CHRONO trial. Dr. Classe is a surgeon and former head of the surgical department of the Institute of Surgical Oncology of Nantes, France. He is a professor in oncology and president of the French Society of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Joly is a medical oncologist and coordinator of gynecological and genito-urinary medical oncology. She is also the head of the clinical research department of Francois Baclesse Comprehensive Cancer Center in Caen, France. She is a professor in medical oncology and a member of both the scientific board of the GINECO intergroup and the GCIG.
Highlights:
-In patients treated for an advanced ovarian cancer not suitable to primary surgery, the timing of surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) could depend on chemosensitivity.
-When more cycles of NAC are discussed, do not confuse more cycles in order to make the disease suitable to a complete surgery with more cycles in order to perform less surgery.
-In cases of patients with a highly chemosensitive advanced ovarian cancer, delaying surgery could reduce surgical morbidity and improve quality of life.
-More cycles of NAC to treat a chemosensitive disease could improve the rate of complete surgery and improve the rate of pathological complete response.
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Drs. David Viveros-Carreño and Rene Pareja to discuss Sedlis criteria. Dr. Viveros-Carreño is a Gynecologic Oncologist at Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Clínica Universitaria Colombia and Clínica Los Nogales in Bogotá, Colombia. Dr. Pareja is a gynecologist oncologist at Astorga Oncology Clinic in Medellín and the National Cancer Institute in Bogotá, Colombia. Dr. Pareja is a reviewer for more than 20 specialty journals, an Associate Editor for IJGC, and a member of the board of directors of the International Gynecological Cancer Society (IGCS). He is the author of nine book chapters and more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and at IGCS 2021 he received an award for Community Advancement in Resource-Limited Settings.
Highlights:
-There is currently a debate regarding the role of adjuvant therapy for intermediate-risk cervical cancer.
-Adjuvant pelvic radiotherapy showed lower risk of recurrence for intermediate-risk cervical cancer in a randomized controlled trial more than 20 years ago.
-Preoperative imaging, surgery, pathology, and radiotherapy techniques have changed since the evidence for intermediate risk adjuvant treatments was described.
-The risk of recurrence for intermediate risk cervical cancer is probably lower now, and observation could be an option.
-New evidence from two randomized controlled trials (GOG 263 and CERVANTES trials) is expected to change definitions of intermediate risk and adjuvant algorithms.
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Dmitriy Zamarin to discuss immune checkpoint inhibitors in ovarian cancer. Dr. Zamarin is a medical oncologist and a translational research director in gynecologic medical oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His research focuses on development of novel immune therapeutics in gynecologic malignancies and on the mechanisms of immune response to immunotherapy.
Highlights:
-Immune checkpoint blockade benefits a subset of patients with ovarian cancer, but predictors of such benefit remain unknown.
-Patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma appear to be more likely to derive benefit from immunotherapy, particularly from combined immune checkpoint blockade; however, these patients still constitute only a minority of those with ovarian clear cell carcinoma.
-Larger prospective trials of immune checkpoint blockade, including combined immune checkpoint blockade in ovarian clear cell carcinoma, are needed to validate these early observations.
-Biomarkers of response to immunotherapy like PD-L1 expression and tumor mutation burden are of limited value in ovarian cancer, and other molecular and microenvironment biomarkers are needed.
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Drs. Mario Leitao and Evan Smith to discuss outcomes of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. Dr. Leitao is an attending surgeon and member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as well as a Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. He serves as the fellowship director at MSKCC as well as the Director of the Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery Program. Dr. Smith is a gynecologic oncologist at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Gynecologic Oncology with the LSU Health Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program in Baton Rouge.
Highlights:
-Lymphadenectomy is unnecessary in patients with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) and clinically normal nodes.
-Postoperative therapies do not improve progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival in low-grade ESS that is completely resected.
-FIGO stage is associated with PFS but not disease-specific survival.
-Next generation sequencing is standard for soft tissue sarcomas and should be offered to patients with low-grade ESS.
Friday Sep 09, 2022
Friday Sep 09, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Professor Bradley J. Monk to discuss the ATHENA-MONO clinical trial. Prof. Monk is an international thought leader and clinical trialist who has developed and advocated for maintenance treatment in newly diagnosed advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer. ATHENA-MONO represents his fifth positive randomized phase 3 trial studying maintenance treatment and adds confidence to this efficacious and tolerable paradigm changing opportunity for all patients regardless of the molecular genotype (allcomers).
Highlights:
- Maintenance therapy is now the global standard of care in patients with advanced or recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. This can include a PAPP inhibitor, bevacizumab, or the combination.
- Maintenance treatment is efficacious in all molecular subgroups and is tolerable without an impairment in the quality of life.
- Payers acknowledge the value of maintenance treatment as do consensus guidelines.
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Devon Abt to discuss SLN mapping in endometrial hyperplasia. Devon is a fourth-year Resident in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School currently applying into Gynecologic Oncology fellowship.
Highlights:
- Fewer than 30% of patients with preoperative diagnosis of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia had concurrent endometrial cancer on final pathology.
Endometrial stripe ≥20mm was associated with 2 times the risk of concurrent endometrial cancer.
- Routine SLND in all patients with preoperative diagnosis of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia is not cost-effective and would result in overtreatment.
- Endometrial stripe may be a criterion for selectively using a sentinel lymph node algorithm in patients with preoperative diagnosis of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia who are poor candidates for lymphadenectomy or at institutions where frozen section is not available or reliable.
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
In this rebroadcasted episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Dr. Ainhoa Madariaga to discuss parp inhibitor treatments and adverse events. Dr. Madariaga's article "Manage wisely: poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) treatment and adverse events" (ijgc.bmj.com/content/early/2020…8/ijgc-2020-001288), was the Lead Article in the July 2020 issue of IJGC. Dr. Madariaga is a medical oncologist working as a clinical research fellow in the gynecology and drug development program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Her clinical and academic areas of interest are gynecologic cancers and early phase clinical trial design, such as development of drug-repurposing studies, cancer treatment adverse event and patient reported outcomes assessment.
Original release date: July 6, 2021