[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE OVARIAN CANCER BIOMARKER RESEARCH ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to proudly present the 
Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2007, along with my friend and 
colleague, Representative Howard L. Berman.
  Detecting this cancer early is the key to preventing deaths from this 
disease. In cases where ovarian cancer detection happens before it has 
spread beyond the ovaries, more than 93 percent of women survive longer 
than five years. When diagnosed in the advanced stages, the chance of 
five-year survival drops to about 30 percent. Currently, early stage 
diagnosis occurs in only 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases in the U.S. 
Ovarian cancer mortality could be reduced dramatically if a majority of 
the women affected with ovarian cancer were diagnosed at an early 
stage. Unfortunately, there is no widely accepted or effective 
screening test for ovarian cancer currently available and it is 
difficult to diagnose because symptoms are easily confused with other 
diseases.
  The Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2007 would authorize the 
National Cancer Institute to make grants to public or nonprofit 
entities to establish research centers focused on ovarian cancer 
biomarkers. Biomarkers are biochemical features within the body that 
may be used to determine the presence and extent of and/or predict 
response to therapy and ultimate prognosis. This Act also establishes a 
national clinical trial that will enroll at-risk women in a study to 
determine the clinical utility of using these validated ovarian cancer 
biomarkers.
  A former staff member of mine, Grace Warren, was diagnosed with 
ovarian cancer a few years ago. She has been a champion for this 
cause--I draw strength from her strength and faith from her faith on 
how she lives with and battles with this disease everyday. We must 
continue to raise awareness of the symptoms. Women with common symptoms 
such as abdominal pressure, nausea, indigestion, unusual fatigue, and 
unexplained weight gain or loss should not ignore these warning signs. 
For Grace and all the other women who fight this disease, I say to you 
that I will keep fighting, too, until we find a cure.
  We encourage you to join with us, the Society of Gynecologic 
Oncologists (SGO), the American College of Obstetricians and 
Gynecologists (ACOG), the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, and the 
American College of Surgeons (ACS) in supporting the Ovarian Cancer 
Biomarker Research Act of 2007.

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