Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance

Ultimately, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance's goal is to eradicate ovarian cancer-- the deadliest of all gynecologic cancers. Our mission is to promote, advocate for and support scientific research as it relates to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure for ovarian cancer; to provide education about ovarian cancer; to promote, advocate for and provide supportive services to persons affected by ovarian cancer; and to foster alliances to further those purposes.

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance unites the ovarian cancer community as one strong voice, propelling the ovarian cancer field forward at an accelerated pace—exactly what is needed at a critical time when scientific discoveries are rapidly increasing. We funding research through our own grant programs, we simultaneously work in Washington DC to increase federal dollars for research, and offer comprehensive education and patient engagement programs for women at all stages of diagnosis and survivorship.

OCRFA is the oldest and largest charity funding ovarian cancer research in the United States, and awards grants through a competitive peer-review process conducted by OCRFA's prestigious Scientific Advisory Committee. The Scientific Advisory Committee is comprised of the nation's top gynecologic oncologists and ovarian cancer researchers. OCRFA is nimble in its ability to fund the most novel approaches to combating this disease. OCRFA is able to solicit, review, and fund worthy applications in a relatively short time-frame, which leads to more rapid scientific progress.

OCRFA is deeply engaged in advocacy, and has successfully advocated for over $2.2 billion in federal funding for ovarian cancer research and education for the past two decades.

OCRFA has been the driving force behind many important discoveries. In the past several years, OCRFA grantees have:

*Developed innovative strategies for early detection: OCRFA-funded research has shown that glycans (small sugar molecules in the blood) appear to distinguish between healthy women and those with ovarian cancer. OCRFA researchers are developing a pilot test.

*Discovered changes that increase risk for ovarian cancer: OCRFA funding has led to the identification of a new genetic polymorphism—like BRCA1/2 but more common—that may significantly increase a woman's risk of ovarian cancer.

*Illuminated the origins of ovarian cancer: OCRFA researchers developed a laboratory model that mimics the process by which fallopian tube cells may morph into cancer cells that appear to have come from the ovaries. This demonstration of what happens in patients furthers the theory that some ovarian cancers begin in the fallopian tube.

*Identified new and better targets for treatment: OCRFA researchers discovered that elevated blood platelet levels in ovarian cancer patients fuel tumor growth and reduce survival. These findings reveal a new factor in cancer progression, and also suggest that drugs that interfere with coagulation might be a useful addition to conventional therapies.

In our mission to educate future medical professionals about ovarian cancer, we are also making progress. In the last year alone our Survivors Teaching Students program, in which ovarian cancer survivors come into the classroom and present their unique stories along with facts about the disease, reached nearly 11,000 medical, nursing and physician assistant students. Program participants consistently report that the presentation is effective in increasing their knowledge about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. We are also successfully providing supportive services to women and families facing an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Over 400 women have benefitted from our Woman to Woman peer support program to date.

While great progress has been made, there's much that OCRFA—and the entire ovarian cancer community—would like to accomplish. We need to find a way to identify who is most likely to get ovarian cancer, we need to find ovarian cancer earlier or prevent it all together, and we need more effective, less toxic treatments.