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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Enrichment for Chemoresistant Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells from Human Cell Lines
Published on: September 10, 2014
The Fanconi Anemia/BRCA signaling pathway: disruption in cisplatin-sensitive ovarian cancers
1Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. alan_dandrea@dfci.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Ovarian tumors often exhibit chromosome instability and hypersensitivity to the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Recently, we have shown that this cellular phenotype may result from an acquired disruption of the Fanconi Anemia/BRCA (FA/BRCA) signaling pathway. Disruption results from methylation and silencing of one of the FA genes (FANCF), leading to cisplatin sensitivity. Restoration of this pathway is associated with demethylation of FANCF, leading to acquired cisplatinum resistance. The serial inactivation and reactivation of the FA/BRCA pathway has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancers and related cancers.
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