Two studies recently conducted by Cedars-Sinai Cancer scientists have discovered new information that may improve the understanding of why some patients don’t respond to treatment and what drives ovarian cancer development. Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common ovarian cancer type, developing in the epithelial tissue. It is estimated that roughly 85% of ovarian tumors are epithelial.
The first study affords researchers a better understanding into how ovarian tumors develop resistance to treatment. Resistance usually develops in nearly 80% of high-grade serous tumors of patients with ovarian cancer.
The co-first author for this study, Michelle Jones, stated that whole genome sequencing had led to the discovery that most high-grade serous ovarian tumors could survive chemotherapy from the early stages. This finding goes against popular belief that ovarian tumors evolved after exposure to chemotherapy, which enabled them to survive and adapt throughout the treatment period.
This discovery will give investigators an opportunity to develop better medications for chemo-resistant tumors, which will save the lives of many women with ovarian cancer. The study’s findings were reported in the “Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research.”
The second study looked into the mutations that heightened the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Jones, who was also the second study’s corresponding author, stated that the prevention of ovarian cancer would greatly influence its mortality rate. She added that this research helped scientists identify women who carried cancer-causing mutations accurately, which would allow clinicians to come up with preventive strategies for patients.
For their study, the researchers used new techniques to conduct an analysis of the human genome’s structural variation, which is comprised of 23 chromosome pairs where an individual’s genetic code is stored. They examined the number of gene copies an individual has, referred to as a copy number variant. Structural changes usually occur after a genome is copied, which may lead to genome duplication, rearrangement or deletion. It is these changes that facilitate the development of illnesses such as cancer.
The researchers discovered significant duplications and deletions in the RAD51C, BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These genes hold changes in the DNA sequence of a patient that heighten the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.
The study also discovered four new regions in the human genome that conceal genetic mutations or variants that heightened the risk of patients developing epithelial ovarian cancer. This will hopefully lead to the development of more accurate and better genetic tests for women. The researchers published their findings in the “Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”
While these particular researchers focused on ovarian cancer, teams at different companies, such as QSAM Biosciences Inc. (OTCQB: QSAM), are studying other forms of cancer with a view to bringing to market more effective remedies that also have a better safety profile free from many of the dreaded side effects that conventional cancer treatments are notorious for triggering.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to QSAM Biosciences Inc. (OTCQB: QSAM) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QSAM
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