Cooper is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries behind cancer chemotherapy resistance and discovering new gene candidates and risk factors of chemoresistance.
In addition to analyzing tumor tissue, the research team also looked at ascites fluid from the abdomens of patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Cells found in ascites fluid facilitate metastasis and contribute to therapeutic resistance. Pre-chemotherapy tumor tissue and as- cites cells from the same patient showed significant differences in gene expression profiles, including changes in tumor cell subtypes. Combined with previous stud- ies, these findings indicate that ascites fluid contains a subset of resistant, more stem cell-like cells, likely contributing to disease recurrence. Analysis of post-treat- ment tissue and ascites fluid in a clinical setting could help better inform treatment decisions and monitor disease recurrence. The study highlights some of the chal- lenges in identifying precision medicine approaches for ovarian cancer patients. Still, it also supports using genomic and metabolic information to help select treat- ments, predict treatment outcomes, and identify potential new therapeutic targets to achieve better results for ovarian cancer patients. GENOMIC INFORMATION CAN IMPROVE EARLY DETECTION AND GUIDE SCREENING Several genes are well-known for increas- ing a person’s likelihood of developing cancer in their lifetime, like the BRCA1/2 genes in breast cancer. More than 50 hereditary cancer syndromes have been discovered to be caused by changes in spe- cific genes that can be detected through genetic testing. Several gene variants not
Emily Gordon, PhD, Program Coordinator, works with students in the lab to help explore and understand gene expression signatures associated with certain cancers and chemotherapy resistance.
HUDSONALPHA INSTITUTE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
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