OCRFA Research Sheds Light on Role of STAT3 in Ovarian Cancer

(June 17, 2016) An OCRFA funded study recently published in Oncogene investigated the role that protein STAT3 plays in the activation and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. Many women with ovarian cancer develop fluid in the abdomen, which contains cancer cells. Those cells, coupled with a high activation of STAT3, can spread to other areas of the body and lead to metastasis. “We discovered that the built-up abdominal fluid of patients with ovarian cancer has a high amount of activated STAT3, and that STAT3 is required for further growth and spread of ovarian cancer,” explains Selvendiran Karuppaiyah, PhD, former OCRFA grantee and senior author of the study.

Additionally, they found that a drug that blocks STAT3, called HO-3867, can treat ovarian cancer in mice. “The results of these studies show that STAT3 contributes to ovarian cancer growth and metastasis, which can be treated with the STAT3-blocking drug HO-3867,” Dr. Karuppaiyah concludes.

To read the abstract, click here.