Ten-gene biomarker panel has implications in ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment

Researchers discover that ten genes encoding collagen-remodeling proteins are found to be elevated in ovarian cancer patients with poor prognosis.

In a collaboration between various US-based research institutes and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CA, USA), a group of researchers has recently published a paper outlining ten genes that may be linked to metastasis and poor survival outcomes in ovarian cancer.

The team analyzed survival signatures from three different data sets of ovarian cancer patients who had a poor clinical outcome, looking for a common set of genes. In total, data from almost 800 patients were analyzed. The predictive value of the resultant gene signature was then analyzed in an independent data set.

They discovered ten genes that were overexpressed in patients with poor outcomes, with all of these encoding extracellular matrix proteins involved in collagen remodeling. The researchers explain that these proteins are involved in the formation of a collagen matrix around cancerous cells; therefore protecting the tumor from the effects of chemotherapy.

The researchers, led by Dong-Joo Cheon, envisage that these genes may be used as biomarkers in a diagnostic kit to predict the aggressiveness of the disease and survival outcomes.

The gene COL11A1 was found to be most abundantly expressed, and the team went on to investigate this further. When they blocked COL11A1 in murine cancer cells, the tumor growth was reduced. In this way, the team also predicts that their work having implications in the research and development of future therapeutics.

Source: Cheon DJ, Tong Y, Sim MS et al. A collagen-remodeling gene signature regulated by TGFβ signaling is associated with metastasis and poor survival in serous ovarian cancer. Clin. Cancer Res. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-13-1256 (2013) (Epub ahead of print).