US researchers decode origins of ovarian cancer

A team of US researchers has identified highrisk cells in fallopian tubes that may trigger a deadly form of ovarian cancerThe discovery of the highrisk cells a subset of progenitor cells that reside in fallopian tube supportive tissue or stroma may pave the way for better approaches to prevent and detect highgrade serous ovarian cancer HGSOC said the team from the University of PittsburghHGSOC is a type of ovarian cancer that starts in the fallopian tubes and spreads to the ovaries It is the most common form of ovarian cancerOvarian cancer is a leading cause of death from gynecologic cancer but we currently have no way to detect it early and no prevention strategies apart from surgical castration which is only indicated in highrisk women said Lan Coffman Associate Professor of malignant hematology and medical oncology in the Pitt School of MedicineUnderstanding the underlying biology of how ovarian cancer forms is critical to improving outcomes for our patients Coffman said in the paper published in the journal Cancer DiscoveryHGSOC begins in the fallopian tubes when healthy epithelial cells transform into precursor lesions known as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma STIC These STIC lesions often develop into HGSOC tumoursTo find out Coffman and her team turned to the stroma the noncancerous connective tissue that helps cancer grow In the stroma of ovarian cancer a type of progenitor cell normally involved in the growth and repair of healthy tissue mesenchymal stem cells MSCs becomes reprogrammed by tumour cells to support cancer growthFurther probe revealed that cells that looked like cancerassociated MSCs in the fallopian tubes of healthy women had higher risk of ovarian cancer The risks include older age or with mutations in the BRCA gene suggesting that they play a role in cancer initiationWhen the researchers introduced these highrisk MSCs into organoids or miniorgans derived from patient fallopian tube tissue healthy epithelial cells transformed into cancerous cellsHighrisk MSCs promote DNA damage in epithelial cells and then help those mutated cells survive explained Coffman Its the perfect storm for cancer initiationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever