Ovarian Cancer Biology and Immunotherapy

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal malignancy of the female reproductive system and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. In the year 2012 alone, United States had 22,280 new ovarian cancer cases and 15,500 deaths were reported. About 7%-10% of ovarian cancers result from an inherited tendency to develop the disease. Ovarian cancer has the ability to escape the immune system because of its pathological interactions between cancer cells and host immune cells in the tumor microenvironment create an immunosuppressive network that promotes tumor growth, protects the tumor from immune system. The levels of immune suppressive elements like regulatory T cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells and cytokines such as IL-10, IL-6, TNF-α, and TGF-β are elevated in the tumor microenvironment. Vascular endothelial growth factor is known to have an immune suppressing role besides its angiogenic role in the tumor microenvironment. Ovarian cancer is associated with high mortality partly due to difficulties in early diagnosis and development of metastases. These problems may overcome by developing accurate mouse models that should mimic the complexity of human ovarian cancer. Such animal models are better suited to understand pathophysiology, metastases, and also for preclinical testing of targeted molecular therapeutics. Immunotherapy is an area of active investigation and off late many clinical trials is ongoing to prevent disease progression. The main aim of dendritic cells vaccination is to stimulate tumor specific effector T cells that can reduce tumor size and induce immunological memory to prevent tumor relapse.

Inhibition of Ca2+‐activated chloride channel ANO1 suppresses ovarian cancer through inactivating PI3K/Akt signaling

“…Epithelial ovarian cancer is mainly divided into four histopathological forms: endometrioid, serous, mucinous and clear cell tumors . The majority (>75%) of epithelial ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed with advanced stage because of poor early detection and tumor invasion to other parts of the body . Therefore, it is imperative to understand the underlying cause of ovarian carcinogenesis, and to identify biomolecules critical for therapeutic intervention or early diagnosis and prognosis.…”

Clinically Relevant microRNAs in Ovarian Cancer

“…In the United States, ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy in women with 22,240 estimated new cases and 14,030 estimated deaths in 2013 (1). With advances in diagnosis and treatment, 5-year survival has improved significantly over the last three decades, but the overall cure rate remains at 30% (2).…”

γδ T Cell-Mediated Immune Responses in Disease and Therapy

“…Immunotherapy has become an increasingly attractive option for the treatment of cancer (105). γδ T cells may be an excellent target for modulation of immune responses in human diseases.…”