Grant: Project Grant

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) leads to over 16,000 deaths in north American women each year. Approximately 87% of EOC cases are diagnosed at late stages of the disease with a 10-year survival rate of a mere 15%. Late diagnosis and poor response to currently used chemotherapy are the major problems in management of EOC. Due to its complex nature, ovarian cancer has not yet benefited from the newer immunotherapies that lead to durable outcomes in a small proportion of other cancer types. Our previous investigations evaluating immune biomarkers, in tumour specimens obtained from the ovarian cancer patient tissue biobanks, revealed that high levels of a key immune response related protein called Signal Transducer and activator of transcription (STAT1) and high numbers of the anti-tumour white blood cells, called the CD8 T cells, are present in tumours from patients who survive longer and respond better to chemotherapy. Given the impact of cancer cell genetic make up in antitumour immunity, we aim to fully characterize the links between the key genetic features and the corresponding anti-tumour immune responses. We hypothesize that these associations can be used in combination as biomarkers to predict patient response and guide personalized treatment approaches. We will conduct a detailed evaluation of patient tumour samples to confirm these correlations for use as a test to classify patients as sensitive or resistant for personalized immunotherapy. To increase patient response chemotherapy we also aim to establish the potential of novel immune stimulatory therapy called the "Stimulator of Interferon genes, agonist" that boosts anti-tumour immune responses and can be combined with chemotherapy. Findings will lead to significant improvements in survival of ovarian cancer patients.