伦敦（路透社）-本周二有科学家表示，年轻的卵巢癌患者即使接受了保留生育能力手术，她们的存活率仍高于老年患者。
卵巢癌是公认的隐形杀手。究其原因是卵巢癌的发展较为隐匿，往往到了晚期才被发现，此时治疗难度较大。但美国的一项研究发现， 30-60岁的卵巢癌患者其5年生存率达59%，而老年患者的5年生存率仅为25%。卵巢癌鲜见于30岁以下的女性，但这一年龄段患者的5年存活率高达79%。
加利福尼亚斯坦福大学的 John Chan 博士在《英国肿瘤杂志》上表示，年轻卵巢癌患者的存活率较高。其部分原因是由于早期诊断和肿瘤恶性程度较低，但除此之外可能还存在着其他潜在的未知因素与预后改善有关。
研究还发现，处于生育年龄的患者无论接受保留生育能力的保守手术还是切除子宫的彻底手术，她们的存活率几无差异。因此 John Chan 博士认为更多的绝经前卵巢癌患者可以考虑接受保留生育能力的手术。同时，假设这一年龄段的所有存活率都如此，那么采用新的治疗方法对这些年轻患者的治疗效果将产生巨大影响。John Chan 博士的研究结果来自于对1988-2001年间美国2.8万名卵巢癌患者病历资料的分析。
根据法国里昂国际癌症研究中心的数据，全世界每年约有19万卵巢癌的新发病例，有11.4万患者死于此病。斯堪的纳维亚半岛、东欧、美国和加拿大的卵巢癌发病率和死亡率最高。阳性家族史是卵巢癌最重要的危险因素，5%～10%的卵巢癌患者有本病家族史。卵巢癌的发生与激素水平关系密切。此外，早熟、绝经延迟、乳腺癌病史和未生育均可增加卵巢癌的发病风险。
科学家们认为需要进行更多关于卵巢癌潜在生物学和细胞学差异的研究，以解释不同年龄组卵巢癌存活率不同的原因。
Younger women survive ovarian cancer better
Tue Nov 7, 2006 7:27 PM GMT
LONDON (Reuters) - Younger women with ovarian cancer have better survival rates than older patients, even if they have surgery to conserve their fertility, scientists said on Tuesday.
Ovarian cancer is known as the silent killer because it is often not detected until the illness is in an advanced stage and more difficult to treat.
But an American study showed that 59 percent of women diagnosed between the ages of 30-60 were still alive five years later, compared to only 35 percent of older women with the illness.
Ovarian cancer is rare in women under 30 but the 5-year survival rate for that age group was 79 percent.
"We found that younger patients have a better survival..," said Dr John Chan of Stanford University in California, in the British Journal of Cancer.
Although the improved survival of young women could be due in part to an earlier diagnosis and a lower grade of tumor, Chan and his team believe there may be other underlying, unknown factors linked to the improved prognosis.
The researchers also found no significant difference in the survival of women of child-bearing age who had been treated with surgery to conserve their fertility and those who had their wombs removed.
"Our results suggest that more pre-menopausal women diagnosed with ovarian cancer can be considered for fertility-sparing surgery," said Chan.
"Also, given the overall encouraging survival rates in this age group, we can potentially make a significant impact on the outcomes of these young women with novel strategies," he added.
About 190,000 new cases of ovarian cancer occur worldwide each year and 114,000 women die of the illness. The highest rates are reported in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the United States and Canada, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France.
A family history of the illness is the most important risk factor and occurs in 5-10 percent of cases. The illness is influenced by hormones. Early puberty, late menopause, a history of breast cancer and not having children may increase the odds of developing it.
Chan's findings are based on an analysis of the medical history of 28,000 American women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 1988 and 2001.
The scientists called for more research into the potential biological and molecular differences that could account for the disparity in survival rates among the age groups.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-11-07T192733Z_01_L06474461_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-CANCER-OVARY-DC.XML&WTmodLoc=SciHealth-C4-Health-3
编辑：蓝色幻想
