2011 Ann and Sol Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award Recipient — Ruth Perets, MD, PhD
Project Summary
Due to the lack of screening tools for detection of early stage ovarian cancer, most ovarian cancer is diagnosed late, when the disease has already spread in the patient’s abdomen. At a late stage, current treatments are less effective. Late detection of the tumor also has hampered the study of where and how these tumors arise. However, recent studies suggest that many of the most aggressive ovarian cancers arise from the tip of the fallopian tube near the ovary rather than from the ovary itself. Microscopic analysis of the fallopian tubes from women with inherited ovarian cancer and who have mutations in the BRCA1 gene reveals early cancers and even pre-cancerous lesions in their fallopian tubes. The objective of Dr. Perets’ research is to test whether the fallopian tube is the origin site of ovarian cancer by making a mouse model of “ovarian” cancer. Dr. Perets will genetically engineer a mouse to have human genetic mutations in the fallopian tube, but not in the ovary, to determine if such genetic alterations cause tumor development in the mouse. Her findings should provide evidence for the hypothesis that fallopian tube cells are responsible for ovarian cancer and may also enable women with predisposition to ovarian cancer to undergo better preventive screening.
This grant has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.