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 AUGUSTA, Ga. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- It's called the silent killer. Nearly half of all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are dead within five years. And about two-thirds will have their cancer come back. Now a new drug delays the disease.
Jean Bruner's friends are her family. "I have no brothers or sisters and no close family, but I'm not lonesome. I've never been lonesome. I can always stay busy," the 76-year-old says.
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Bruner needs a support system like her best friend Dottie, especially since she is battling cancer for the third time. Ten years, ago it was breast cancer. Now, she's getting chemo for ovarian cancer -- for the second time. She says, "I just put myself in the hands of the Lord and the care I had."
 Part of that care was taking an experimental drug called A6. It works by preventing blood vessels from growing and causing tumors to develop and spread. Gynecologic oncologist Sharad Ghamande, M.D., says the women who had injections of it delayed their ovarian cancer from coming back by about six months. That's important because the longer you wait to have chemo again after being diagnosed, the more effective it is.
"It's almost like a new cancer, and you can re-operate or re-give them chemotherapy, and many of them will do fairly well," Dr. Ghamande, of Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, tells Ivanhoe.
 The 40 patients in the study gave themselves a daily injection of A6 until doctors detected new signs of cancer. Dr. Ghamande says A6 could be used as a frontline treatment for ovarian cancer and be used along with chemo in the future to be even more effective. The drug is still years away from FDA approval. The next step is a larger trial.
A6 helped delay Bruner's cancer from coming back by about 11 months. "And I know I'm a walking miracle," she says. She celebrated life by taking a trip to Hawaii with Dottie, who will be there to guide her every step of the way.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Nora McClendon
Research Project Coordinator
Office of Gynecologic Oncology Clinical Trials
Medical College of Georgia
(706) 721-5557
nmclendo@mcg.edu
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