Adelson Medical Research Foundation-Sponsored Research Identifies the Origins of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma (HGSOC)

NEEDHAM, Mass., Nov. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation (AMRF), a private foundation funding collaborative translational science programs, announced today an important new publication in the October 23, 2017 online issue of the journal Nature Communications. The paper, co-authored by AMRF-funded scientists Ronny Drapkin of the University of Pennsylvania and Victor Velculescu of Johns Hopkins University, suggests that certain fallopian tube lesions and serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs) that harbor TP53 gene mutations progress to become HGSOC on an average time course of 6.5 years. HGSOC is the most common form of ovarian cancer; however, with limited effective treatments. This finding provides support to existing preventative recommendations for certain high-risk ovarian cancer patients and may improve diagnostic capabilities for this form of ovarian cancer. Improved early detection ought to lead to the development of more successful therapies as in other cancer types.

"The collaboration among Drs. Drapkin, Velculescu and their other Adelson Medical Research Foundation-funded colleagues brings together distinguished laboratories with capabilities in cancer genomics, cancer cell biology, pathology, and the treatment of cancer in women to uniquely analyze ovarian tumors," said Dr. Miriam Adelson, Trustee and Executive Director of the Foundation. "This is an example of our Foundation's unique collaborative model in action," noted Sheldon G. Adelson, Trustee of the Foundation and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "By funding collaborative teams from a number of major biomedical research institutions and a variety of scientific disciplines, we are bringing new insights to some of the most challenging areas of cancer research," Dr. Adelson elaborated.

"This study implies that the most common form of ovarian cancer develops from fallopian tube lesions and STICs that harbor TP53 genetic mutation signatures rather than the ovaries, themselves," noted Dr. Kristian Hedstrom, Chief Scientific Officer of AMRF. "This alters the field's approach to early detection and treatment of this lethal disease," Hedstrom said.

Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Pathology in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and director of gynecologic cancer research at the Basser Center for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Victor E. Velculescu, M.D., Ph.D., is Co-Director of Cancer Biology and Professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, established in 2006, is a private foundation committed to a model of open and highly integrated collaboration among outstanding investigators who participate in goal-directed basic and clinical research to prevent, reduce or eliminate disabling and life-threatening illness. The Foundation creates a culture of scientific discovery, evaluation, and clinical application directed by the experiences of scientists who are not bound by searching for the cure of any single disease. The Adelson Program in Cancer Research pursues therapies targeted to the mechanisms that make cells malignant.

For additional information on the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, please visit http://www.adelsonfoundation.org/amrfphil.html

Media Contact:
Dr. Kristian Hedstrom
Chief Science Officer
Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation
(781) 972-5900
[email protected]

SOURCE Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation

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