The 2019 Ovarian Cancer Midwest Focus Conference is currently taking place in St. Paul and Minnesota State Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Rep. Jeanne Poppe have sent videos and letters to kick off the conference with messages of support.

The conference, which ran Monday and Tuesday, focused on basic science, translational and clinical topics on ovarian cancer and offered sessions on emerging topics such as cancer metabolism, novel therapeutics and personalized medicine.

Dr. Ilana Chefetz, head of the Cancer Stem Cells and Necroptosis lab at The Hormel Institute, presented on new therapies as well as the metabolism issues in ovarian cancer. Dr. Chefetz also helped to organize this year’s conference.

Ovarian cancer currently ranks as the fifth deadliest cancer for American women. Women in the U.S. have a 1-in-78 chance of developing ovarian cancer in their lifetime, mainly developing in older age. While very treatable if found early, there are a lack of early detection tests and only about 20 percent of all cases are diagnosed in early stages.