PITTSBURGH, Penn. (Ivanhoe Newswire)— For many ovarian cancer patients, doctors usually recommend surgery and chemotherapy. An innovative treatment called immunotherapy, which uses a patient’s own immune cells, has proven to be effective for other types of cancer but has limited success in ovarian cancer. Now, researchers may have discovered one of the reasons why, and as a result, may have a targeted treatment for it.
Researchers in Pittsburgh have identified cells, called mesenchymal cells, or MSC, that form a barrier around ovarian cancer, which means immunotherapies designed for a patient’s own T-cells won’t work.
Ronald Buckanovich, MD, PhD, of the Women’s Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and the Magee Womens Research Institute, explained, “The T-cells come to the tumor, but they get stuck on the outside and they can’t get in and do their job.”
Those cells travel to the cancer through what’s called the hedgehog pathway.
The hedgehog pathway got its name because in early genetic studies, fruit flies with a certain genetic mutation had hair that stood up like a hedgehog. In fact, one of the Harvard researchers who made the discovery had kids who loved videogames, so he named one gene after Sonic the Hedgehog.
“There are drugs that inhibit the hedgehog pathway that are FDA approved. They’re used to treat diseases like basal cell carcinoma or blastoma,” Dr. Buckanovich said.
Dr. Buckanovich, and fellow Pittsburgh researchers, want to test a combination therapy. Patients would take drugs that block the hedgehog genes. They would also take another immunotherapy drug called atezolizumab, allowing the immunotherapy drugs past the MSC cells, so they can fight the ovarian cancer.
The scientists tested the drugs in animals and found the combination worked to allow immune cells to get past the MSC barrier. Researchers have applied to the FDA to begin a small trial of the combination treatment in people. Dr. Buckanovich anticipates they’ll begin recruiting patients this spring.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer, Roque Correa, Editor.
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Sources:
https://blog.timesunion.com/healthcare/behind-the-name-of-the-sonic-hedgehog-protein/3273/
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/car-t-cell-therapy)
https://unsplash.com/s/photos/hedgehog
https://twitter.com/kirkmmaxey/status/577886323912015872
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: BETTER OVARIAN CANCER TREATMENT: THANK THE SONIC HEDGEHOG
GENE?
REPORT: MB #5017
BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is a group of diseases that originates in the ovaries, or in the related areas of the fallopian tubes and peritoneum. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. In 2018, the United States reported that 19,679 new cases of ovarian cancer were reported, and 13,748 women died from that cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fifth deadliest cancer for women and about 1 in 75 people who have ovaries will be diagnosed at some point in their lifetime.
(Source: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/ovarian/basic_info/risk_factors.htm
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/cancer/ovarian-cancer)
DIAGNOSING AND SYMPTOMS: Ovarian cancer can sneak up on you if you don’t pay attention to the symptoms and ask questions at your next doctor’s visit. Some signs and symptoms to look out for are abdominal bloating or swelling, quickly feeling full when eating, weight loss, discomfort in the pelvic area, fatigue, back pain, changes in bowel habits (i.e., constipation), and a frequent need to urinate. In addition to the symptoms, you should also consult your doctor about conditions that could put you at risk of ovarian cancer like older age, family history of ovarian cancer, being overweight or obese, endometriosis, and never having been pregnant.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ovarian-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20375941)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: New advances in treatment for ovarian cancer have been recently approved by the FDA. Anti-angiogenics and PARP inhibitors are some of the newest types of drugs created to help slow down the progression and aggressiveness of the cancer. In the last three years, the FDA has approved four new uses of the PARP inhibitors: (1) Rucaparib, for maintenance treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer, (2) Olaparib, for women with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer, (3) Olaparib plus bevacizumab, for maintenance treatment in women with advanced ovarian cancer, and (4) Niraparib, for maintenance treatment to keep the cancer at bay after chemotherapy. Research is in progress to improve the technology that can detect ovarian cancer at earlier stages.
(Source: https://www.webmd.com/ovarian-cancer/ovarian-cancer-latest-research)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Asher Jones
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
