OCRA-Funded Research Advances Immunotherapy

(December 23, 2019) OCRA-funded scientist Dr. Sarah Gitto is making strides toward better harnessing the immune system to fight ovarian cancer.

As reported recently in Gynecologic Oncology, Dr. Gitto and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania successfully created patient “avatars,” which mimic a patient’s biological profile based on a number of factors. Using these avatars, researchers can test therapeutic strategies to stimulate or suppress the immune system to fight ovarian cancer. The hope is that this strategy will limit rejection of potential immunotherapy treatments by patients’ immune systems.

According to Dr. Daniel Powell, study co-author and member of OCRA’s esteemed Scientific Advisory Committee, this work “can provide a unique platform for assessing patient-specific T-cell response to immunotherapy.“

Immunotherapy has long held potential for helping patients with ovarian cancer. Scientists like Dr. Gitto and her team are working to overcome challenges that stand in the way of more effective use of this promising treatment option.

Read more about this work, which you make possible, in the manuscript available through Gynecologic Oncology.

OCRA-funded scientists like Dr. Gitto and her team are working every day to make progress toward ending ovarian cancer. Help fund more groundbreaking discoveries.

Dr. Gitto’s grant is made possible by generous donations from Joseph and Angela Campolo, in memory of Phebe Aubry, and family and friends in loving memory of Sandra Gralnick.