IJGC conversations

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Drs. Cristina Taliento and Giuseppe Vizzielli to discuss ctDNA & diagnosis of ovarian cancer.   Cristina Taliento is a gynecologist and PhD candidate in a joint PhD program at the University Hospital of Ferrara, Italy, and KU Leuven, Belgium, associated with the International Ovarian Tumour Analysis (IOTA) Group. She completed a Research Fellowship at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. She recently started her Fellowship Training in Gynecologic Oncology at the University Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany. Her PhD research focuses on clinical and translational studies in the diagnosis and management of adnexal tumors, with a particular interest in circulating tumor DNA in ovarian cancer.   Giuseppe Vizzielli is an associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Department of Medicine, University of Udine, and Chief of the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at University Hospital of Udine, Italy. He completed his Ph.D. studies in molecular pathology in gynaecological oncology at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Roma. He is a member of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) and a member of the Italian Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy (SEGI), affiliated with the ESGE. He was the principal investigator of the national research project,  Longitudinal genomic and transcriptomic analysis on ovarian cancer organoids. He serves as an official reviewer of many indexed international journals as well as Lancet Oncology, the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, the European Journal of Surgical Oncology, World Journal of Surgical Oncology, European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and BMC Cancer, and he is an associate editor of BMC Cancer, Cancers and the World Journal of Surgical Oncology. His recent publication in IJGC focuses on Circulating tumor DNA in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.      

In this episode of the IJGC conversations 2025 December Editor's Choice, Editorial Fellow Itziar Villagrá, Joannie Neveu, and Mathilde Del discusses the contents of the 2025 December issue of IJGC.     

In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez, is joined by Dr. Bradley Monk to discuss ctDNA: Results from CALLA Trial.   Bradley Monk, MD, FACOG, FACS is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute and medical director of the Late-Stage Clinical Research Program. He provides care to patients at the FCS West Palm Beach location. Dr. Monk has extensive leadership experience in practice-changing clinical research and the development of clinical research programs in community oncology settings. His research special interests are primarily focused on the prevention and treatment of gynecologic cancers. As a principal investigator, Dr. Monk has been involved in numerous groundbreaking studies throughout his career. Dr. Monk is a co-founder of the GOG-Partners (GOG-P) Foundation® (GOG-F), a nonprofit organization committed to advancing clinical and scientific research in the field of gynecologic malignancies. The organization was instrumental in establishing a national gynecologic clinical trials network. He has presented his findings at hundreds of national and international forums and authored more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and more than 35 book chapters focused on the prevention and treatment of gynecologic malignancies and patient reported outcomes. Dr. Monk is a past recipient of the esteemed Ernst Wertheim Award for his research in cervical cancer. Prior to joining FCS in 2024, Dr. Monk served as director and principal investigator for HonorHealth at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he also served as the site research leader for Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Among his numerous academic appointments, he most recently served as a professor on the Clinical Scholar Track at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

In this IJGC podcast, Dr. Pedro Ramirez discusses RAMP 201 Results: Avutometinib and Defactinib in Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer with Susana N Banerjee and Rachel N. Grisham. Prof Susana Banerjee MBBS MA PhD FRCP is a Consultant Medical Oncologist and Research Lead for the Gynaecology Unit at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London. She is also Professor in Women’s Cancers at the Institute of Cancer Research. Dr Banerjee specialises in ovarian cancer and the systemic treatment of endometrial and cervical cancers. Prof Banerjee is President of the Royal Society of Medicine Oncology Section. Prof Banerjee graduated with a 1st class in Physiology from St John’s College, University of Cambridge. She was president of the Cambridge Medical Society in 1996-1997. She completed her medical training in 2000 at The Royal Free/University College London Medical School where she was a University of London Gold Medal finalist. Dr Banerjee gained a PhD from The Institute of Cancer Research in 2009, University of London and was awarded the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Novartis Oncology Basic Science Award for her research. Other prizes include the Association of Cancer Physicians McElwain Prize, the Sir Antony Driver Prize and the Pfizer British Oncology Association Young Investigator Award (highly commended). She received The Fellow of ESMO (FESMO) Award in 2023. Prof Banerjee has served in international specialist groups including the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Executive Steering Committee for Gynaecological Cancers, ESGO (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology) Congress Faculty and International Gynecologic Cancer Society Scientific Program Committee. Prof Susana Banerjee was elected to serve on the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Executive Board as Director of Membership (2020-2022). She was Track Chair for Gynaecological Cancers for the ESMO Congress 2018, Scientific Co-Chair for ESMO Asia 2018 and Co-Chair of the ESMO Gynaecological Cancers Congress 2021-2024. She is currently co-chair of the Gynecological Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) Rare Cancers Committee. She is a Theme Lead (Cancer Treatment Effects) for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research. Prof Banerjee is an author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications including in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology and Annals of Oncology. Her research interests include individualisation of patient treatment, targeted therapies (including PARP inhibitors) and rare gynaecological cancers. Prof Banerjee has Global and UK Chief Investigator roles of over 30 national and international clinical trials. She led the ENGOTov60/GOG3052/RAMP201 trial globally which resulted in FDA accelerated approval for avutometinib and defactanib - the first approved therapy specifically for low grade serous ovarian cancer.   Dr. Rachel N. Grisham is a medical oncologist and internationally recognized expert in gynecologic cancers, with a particular focus on low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (LGSOC) and rare ovarian malignancies. She has played a leading role in advancing systemic therapy for ovarian cancer through clinical trials, translational research, and national guideline development. Dr. Grisham has been at the forefront of evaluating novel targeted therapies for LGSOC, including MEK inhibitors, avutometinib, and defactinib, as well as hormone-directed strategies and combinations with novel agents. She has served as principal or co-investigator on multiple pivotal trials, including ENGOT-OV60/GOG-3052/RAMP 201 and RAMP 301, which are shaping the future treatment landscape for recurrent LGSOC. Her work extends to biomarker-driven approaches, exploring MAPK pathway alterations, homologous recombination deficiency, and folate receptor alpha expression, with the goal of developing precision oncology strategies in ovarian cancer. In addition to clinical trials, Dr. Grisham has published extensively on the molecular landscape and clinicopathologic features of ovarian tumors, treatment paradigms for granulosa cell tumors and clear cell carcinoma, and the management of rare gynecologic neoplasms such as mesonephric-like adenocarcinomas. She is a co-author of the NCCN Guidelines for Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancers, reflecting her leadership in shaping standards of care. Her scholarly contributions include over a decade of influential publications in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Gynecologic Oncology, International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, and Cancer. She has also authored consensus statements and state-of-the-science reviews that provide critical guidance for clinicians worldwide. Through her clinical research, teaching, and collaborative international work, Dr. Grisham has made significant contributions to improving outcomes for women with gynecologic cancers, particularly those with low-grade serous ovarian cancer, a historically under-researched disease.

In this IJGC podcast, Dr. Pedro Ramirez discusses SENTIX Trial with David Cibula. Dr. David Cibula graduated from the First Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague in 1992. Since 2003, he has served as the Chair of the Gynecological Oncology Center at the University Hospital in Prague, and in 2022, he became the head of the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics, and Neonatology. He is a former President of the European Society of Gynecologic Oncology and previously led the International Group for Guidelines and Quality Indicators in Cervical Cancer. He is the founder and chair of the Central and Eastern European Group for Clinical Trials in Gynecologic Oncology, a member of ENGOT. Dr. Cibula has also established two charitable organizations supporting patients with gynecologic cancers and promoting research in the field. He is the author or co-author of hundreds of scientific publications. His recent article in Nature Cancer presents the final results of the SENTIX study on sentinel lymph node biopsy in early-stage cervical cancer.