Identification And Characterization Of Cancer Stem Cells In Ovarian Cancer

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 17 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Researchers have identified stem cells in epithelial ovarian cancer that may play a role in the cancer's resistance to chemotherapy. The findings hold potential for more effective targeting of one of the most lethal forms of cancer.

"Present chemotherapy modalities eliminate the bulk of the tumor but leave a core of these cancer stem cells with high capacity for repair and renewal," said Gil Mor, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University School of Medicine. "Identification of these cells, as we have done here, is the first step in the development of therapeutic modalities."

Mor and colleagues isolated cells from 80 human samples of either ascites or solid ovarian tumors. The cancer stem cells were identified by showing positive for traditional markers including CD44 and MyD88, and by showing a high capacity for repair.

In addition Mor and colleagues were able to clone and establish CD44+ cell lines. The cells in culture formed tumors 100 percent of the time. Within those tumors, 10 percent of the cells were CD44+ and 90 percent were CD44-.

Isolating the CD44+ and CD44- stem cells for analysis, the researchers found that the CD44+ cells were highly resistant to chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin, standard therapies for ovarian cancer, while CD44- cells from the same patient were responsive to chemotherapy.

Identification and characterization of cancer stem cells in ovarian cancer
Mor G, et al.
Abstract 2029

This was presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes nearly 27,000 basic, translational, and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 70 other countries. AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment, and patient care. AACR publishes five major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Its most recent publication and its sixth major journal, Cancer Prevention Research, is the only journal worldwide dedicated exclusively to cancer prevention, from preclinical research to clinical trials. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors, patient advocates, their families, physicians, and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship, and advocacy.

American Association for Cancer Research