(July 29, 2014) OCRF-funded research published earlier this month provides the first proof of principle that epigenomic strategies efficiently target ovarian cancer stem cells, which are key for treatment resistance and the major factor in therapy failures. OCRF grantees Kenneth Nephew, PhD and Daniela Matei, MD are first and senior author of the paper, which was published in Cancer Research.
The data suggest that a strategy targeting DNA methylation in ovarian cancer exerts potent anti-tumor activity by allowing elimination of ovarian cancer stem cells enriched in residual, platinum resistant tumors.
The results further suggest that a new epigenetic therapy named SGI-110 might be administered in combination with platinum to prevent the development of recurrent and chemoresistant ovarian cancer.
This OCRF-supported study provides the first evidence that epigenome targeting strategies delay tumor progression by targeting and reprogramming residual cancer stem cells, supporting further refinement and translating these findings to the clinic.
