Prognostic Biomarker Candidates Identified for Ovarian Cancer

Two independent classes of novel candidate prognostic markers for ovarian cancer have been identified advancing efforts to develop targeted therapies for the disease.

An association of this often-deadly cancer has been made with the immune system and clarified the role of a class of immunogenic tumor antigens known as cancer testis (CT) antigens, as the immune system can potently inhibit the growth of cancer cells. These novel findings may enable development of a new strategy for identifying those patients most likely to benefit from particular targeted therapies.


Scientists at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, NY, USA) establish novel associations between prognosis and the expression of immune-related genes through a focused screen utilizing publicly available high-throughput assays. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; Bethesda, MD, USA) is a biorepository study of high-grade serous ovarian cancers from multiple centers in the USA and relevant to their analysis, the study strictly included ovarian primaries and papillary serous histologies.

The team found preliminary evidence that some CT antigens are associated with survival when examined in concert with the five-gene signature. Fifteen of 64 immune-related genes were associated with survival of which five were reproduced in a validation set. The expression of these genes defines an immunoreactive (IR) subgroup of patients with a favorable prognosis. Phenotypic characterization of the immune compartment signal includes upregulation of markers of CD8+ T-cell activation in these patients.

Takemasa Tsuji, PhD, an assistant professor of Oncology and co-author of the study said, “CT antigens like the cancer-testis antigen NY-ESO-1 are readily recognized by the immune system and are therefore prime targets for cancer immunotherapies, so this work unveiling interaction between cancer and immune cells has real implications for our development of efficient immunotherapies at the Center for Immunotherapy. Determining patterns of both the immunological markers and CT antigens present in a women's tumor can lead the way to personalized medicine, an approach that uses the best combination of therapeutic modality and target antigen.” The study was published on November 7, 2014, in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.

Related Links:
Roswell Park Cancer Institute 
The Cancer Genome Atlas