Targeting stem-like cells could prevent ovarian cancer recurrence
Ovarian cancer is not the most common form of cancer, but it’s among the deadliest. That’s because about 70 percent of cases recur. A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) and several other collaborating institutions targets the root of recurrence with new drugs aimed at annihilating stem-like ovarian cancer cells.
Ovarian cancer is not the most common form of cancer, but it’s among the deadliest. That’s because about 70 percent of cases recur. A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) and several other collaborating institutions targets the root of recurrence with new drugs aimed at annihilating stem-like ovarian cancer cells.
The study, published today in the journal Cell Reports, identifies a new experimental drug, 673A, that specifically kills the stem-like cells that tend to linger after chemotherapy. In a mouse model of ovarian cancer, combined treatment with 673A and chemotherapy resulted in significantly greater survival rates.
“You can think of stem-like cells as seeds. They put down roots and grow into a plant,” said Ronald Buckanovich, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine at Pitt, director of the Ovarian Cancer Center of Excellence at MWRI, and co-director of the Women’s Cancer Research Center. “I especially like the dandelion analogy. When we treat cancer, we’re essentially mowing the lawn. But the problem is that dandelions always come back.”
Chemotherapy kills 90 to 99 percent of cancer cells, but because it leaves the stem-like cells behind, the cancer can come back.
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