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Published on: January 12, 2020
Molecular predictors of response and outcome in ovarian cancer
Silvana Canevari1, Manuela Gariboldi, James F Reid
1Unit of Molecular Therapies, Department of Experimental Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, 20133-Milan, Italy. silvana.canevari@istitutotumori.mi.it
Abstract:
A major problem in clinical management of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the largely unpredictable response to first-line treatment and the occurrence of relapse after complete initial response, associated with broad cross-resistance to even structurally dissimilar drugs. During tumor development and progression, multiple genic alterations take place that might contribute specifically to the treatment response and eventually impact on disease outcome. One area of intense research is the identification of molecular markers to accurately assess the prognosis of EOC patients and to define innovative therapeutic strategies. A large survey of recent published data indicates the need to revisit traditional molecular markers with respect to their contribution to the assessment of overall survival in selected populations. Furthermore, recent technological developments that enable simultaneous measurement of many parameters ("omic" approaches) hold the promise of identifying new molecular prognostic and predictive markers.
Insights
Identifying reliable molecular markers is crucial for predicting epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) treatment response and improving patient survival. New "omic" approaches offer promise for discovering novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genetics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) presents challenges in predicting treatment response and managing relapse.
- Drug resistance, even to dissimilar agents, complicates clinical management.
- Genomic alterations during tumor progression influence treatment outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the need for improved molecular markers in EOC.
- To explore the potential of traditional and novel markers for prognosis and treatment strategies.
- To identify biomarkers for assessing overall survival in EOC patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent published data on molecular markers in EOC.
- Analysis of traditional molecular markers' contribution to overall survival.
- Exploration of
- omic
- technologies for biomarker identification.
Main Results:
- Existing molecular markers require re-evaluation for their prognostic value in specific EOC populations.
- "Omic" approaches show potential for discovering new prognostic and predictive markers.
- Accurate prognostic markers are essential for tailoring EOC therapies.
Conclusions:
- There is a critical need for validated molecular markers to guide EOC treatment decisions.
- Revisiting traditional markers and embracing advanced "omic" technologies are key to advancing EOC patient care.
- Identifying reliable biomarkers will improve survival prediction and therapeutic strategies for EOC.
