By Debbie Saslow, PhD

I've seen a few articles recently about removing the fallopian tubes to prevent ovarian cancer, a procedure called "prophylactic bilateral salpingectomy". And not just in women who are at high risk for ovarian cancer, which is already recommended by gynecological medical societies in the United States, but for all women who are not planning to have any more children and who are about to undergo abdominal surgery for any reason.

I can see the appeal given that many, if not most, ovarian cancers actually originate in the fallopian tubes. In fact, it is more common to find microscopic fallopian tube cancer than microscopic ovarian cancer in women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation when they have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. (These mutations put them at higher risk for ovarian and breast cancer.) And unfortunately we don't yet have an accurate test to screen women for ovarian cancer, so these cancers are usually found at a late stage when they are often fatal. 

It is common for women to get their "tubes tied" (i.e. tubal ligation) as a form of permanent birth control, and we know this reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. But removing the fallopian tubes is a more invasive procedure, and the potential benefits and potential harms are largely unknown. Is it worth it? Does it really reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and, if so, by how much? More...

By William C. Phelps, PhD

During 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 30 completely new therapies (new molecular entities, as opposed to the modification of an old drug), 7 of which were for treatment of different types of cancer.  One of them, the lung cancer drug crizotinib, was decades in the making. For a new drug, that isn't necessarily a lot of time.

Why does it take so long to get cancer treatments to the patients who need them? The answer lies both in the complexity of cancer and the complexity of the drug development and testing process. More...

By Marji McCullough, ScD, RD

Before writing a blog about soy and breast cancer, I took an informal poll of a few friends to get a sense of what women believe about soy.  I asked them, "What do you know about eating soy food?  Is it good for you? Not good for you?" (I didn't even mention breast cancer.)  The responses I got were,  "I think it acts like estrogen in the body"; "Consuming any soy products increases the risk of breast cancer"; "I don't eat it a lot because I heard something negative but I can't remember what it was;" and "I've heard you should only have it in moderation."  Apparently, people are hearing that soy may not be good. But what's the truth? In this blog I'll walk you through what we know and what we don't know about soy and breast cancer, and give you some practical tips on eating soy. More...