Ovarian Cancer Survival Linked To Levels Of Two Types Of Proteins, Study Finds

Main Category: Ovarian Cancer
Article Date: 19 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Ovarian cancer patients with high levels of two proteins live for a longer time than patients who have low levels of the proteins, researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center report in a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Wall Street Journal reports. The study found that women with high levels of the proteins Dicer and Drosha lived four times as long -- about eight years longer -- as women who had low levels of the proteins (Armstrong, Wall Street Journal, 12/17).

For the study, the researchers examined protein levels in a group of nearly 250 women with ovarian cancer and found that women with high levels of Dicer and Drosha in their tumor cells had a median survival of 11 years. Women with low levels of one or both proteins -- about 40% of those studied -- had a median survival of less than three years. Researchers said that it appears that Dicer and Drosha play a critical role in RNA interference, the mechanism that stops genes from producing proteins inside cells that cause disease, by regulating the body's ability to suppress tumors. The findings suggest that low levels of Dicer and Drosha permit genes to continue functioning when they should be turned off, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lead author Anil Sood -- a professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center -- said, "What's important is that Dicer and Drosha are critical to the process of RNA interference" (Berger, Houston Chronicle, 12/17).

Sood said researchers at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have begun working on RNA interference-based cancer therapies. "We think this is an attractive alternative because we can shut off the gene of interest," Sood said. Measuring protein levels also could eventually allow doctors to better tailor treatments to individual patients, the Journal reports. According to Sood, the center is requesting approval to begin testing RNA interference treatment therapy on humans next year. Current treatments for ovarian cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 21,650 new cases of ovarian cancer are expected this year, and 15,520 women are expected to die from the disease in 2008 (Wall Street Journal, 12/17).

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