Grant: Project Grant

Ovarian cancers are 5 distinct diseases. One of these, endometrioid ovarian cancer, is hugely different from other ovarian cancers and instead is like uterine cancers. Treating this type like other ovarian cancers is inefficient and for many women results in unnecessary toxic chemotherapy. Within endometrioid ovarian cancers there are four subtypes, equivalent to subtypes also defined in uterine cancer. The subtyping scheme uses specific protein and gene markers to define 3 of 4 classes, representing 25-30% of case and this does well to define endometrioid ovarian cancer that need little vs aggressive treatment. The 4th class, representing ~70% of cases, is a subtype by omission and lacks the markers that define the other 3 groups. It is often referred to as "No Specific Molecular Profile" - a misleading moniker given this type can itself be divided up using additional markers of disease. To bring clarity to this largest subtype of endometrioid ovarian carcinomas we will re-evaluate biological characteristics in a large series of cases. We will also use cells derived from these unique ovarian cancers, grown outside the body (in vitro) or in animal models (in vivo), to contrast different treatments that target biological feature common to this subtype. Our study will enable a personalized treatment approach and assist in decision on appropriate treatments to patient that will benefit while reducing over-treatment in patients that will not.