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Many Doctors Avoid Giving Hormone Therapy to Women in Surgical Menopause After Gynecologic Cancer

Hormone therapy can relieve menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, in women who have surgery to remove their ovaries after endometrial or ovarian cancer. But many doctors do not prescribe estrogen-based hormone therapy to their patients who have gynecologic malignancies. A study, published in Menopause, surveyed 293 gynecologic oncologists and gynecologists in 2024 about their prescribing habits for women with gynecologic cancers who had surgery to remove the ovaries—a common treatment for endometrial, ovarian and cervical cancers. Of the doctors surveyed, 36.2% responded that they did not prescribe estrogen for women who had endometrial cancer and 34.8% responded that they did not prescribe it for women who had ovarian cancer. A 2020 statement from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology suggests estrogen can relieve symptoms in young women who experience menopause as a result of their cancer treatment. “We’re probably 50-50 on whether or not people know about this,” Jamie L. McDowell, a study author and a gynecologic oncology fellow at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, told Healio. “One of the number one causes of endometrial cancer is unopposed estrogen. It feels counterintuitive to say it would be OK to then give these patients estrogen after you’ve taken out their uterus. It’s scary for people.”

Crowdfunding Shortfalls Point to Unmet Financial Needs in Cancer Care

Many people who are overwhelmed by the cost of cancer treatment turn to crowdfunding sites to close the gap, but a recent study shows that many of these campaigns fall short of the requested amount. The study, published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, explored 78,338 cancer-related GoFundMe campaigns started between Jan. 1, 2021, and Feb. 28, 2023. Just 12% of these campaigns reached their goals. The median goal for each campaign was $10,000, and the median amount raised was $4,000. Nationally, the campaigns raised a total of $233.7 million annually—or $506 million over the study period. That amount, while sizable, only accounted for a third of the $1.47 billion requested. “I’m really touched by the kindness and empathy from individual peer-to-peer donors,” study author and health economist Zhiyuan (Jason) Zheng, of the American Cancer Society, told MedPage Today. “Each donation averaged something like $100. Given the rising health care costs, this is something we can do to help each other. Still, the amount of help asked is far more than what they received.”

PSMA-PET Scans Lead to More Durable Disease Control in Prostate Cancer

PSMA-PET scans use targeted molecules to deliver radioactive materials to prostate cancer cells—which help to find signs of progression on PET scans. A study shows that PSMA-PET scans can help guide decisions to intensify radiation treatment in men who have rising PSA levels after prostate removal surgery. In a phase II clinical trial published in JAMA Oncology, 64 men received standard radiation to the pelvic bed while another 64 underwent a PSMA-PET scan to guide their radiation treatment. In the latter group, 34 received intensified radiation therapy based on lesions found in PSMA-PET images, while the other 31 had no detected lesions and received standard radiation treatment. The men who had PSMA-PET scans to guide their radiation treatment were less likely to have signs of recurrence, including rising PSA levels, than those who received standard radiation treatment without PSMA-PET guidance. “Our study shows that the greater accuracy of PSMA-PET does translate into better patient outcomes when it guides targeted intensification of salvage radiotherapy,” lead author Colin Belliveau, a radiation oncology resident at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal in Quebec, told Medscape.