T-cell receptors could be the answer to detecting high-grade ovarian cancer early
A novel immune biomarker could help to provide life-saving, early detection for high-grade ovarian cancer (HGOC) patients. Findings reported by researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (PA, USA) and UT Southwestern Medical Center (TX, USA) demonstrate the utility of T-cell receptors in early HGOC diagnosis. The findings were published in Cell Reports Medicine.
HGOC is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women and is often diagnosed during the advanced stages of progression when treatment options are limited. When caught early, ovarian cancer is highly treatable, but so far conventional biomarkers have been unable to detect the microscopic, metastatic early lesions that often develop in the fallopian tubes during early HGOC progressions.
Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and UT Southwestern Medical Center analyzed T-cell receptors (TCRs) — proteins found on the surface of T cells — in 466 blood samples from pre-diagnosed patients with ovarian cancer as well as healthy/benign controls. The team observed quantifiable changes in selected TCRs in HGOC and in the early stages of HGOC, approximately 2 to 4 years before most cases are diagnosed, the group detected HGOC signals in the blood TCR repertoire.
“Early detection of ovarian cancer could mean the difference between life and death for millions of women,” said Bo Li, a core faculty member in the Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “We believe our findings can be a game-changer, providing insights for the development of an immune-based biomarker to detect early-stage ovarian cancers, as well as helping to potentially advance pediatric cancer research.”
Despite being an exploratory study, the team’s findings provide a basis for future immune-based, early detection criteria for HGOC.
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