Grant: Operating Grant

In women, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in North America and the second most common gynecological cancer. Largely asymptomatic, over 70% of patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease, where five year survival rates are as low as 30%. Our goal is to improve current treatment modalities for ovarian cancer to ensure better outcomes with improved quality of life. We have developed over the last 20 years a rich resource of tissues and cell lines representing the disease. We are using this resource to develop new therapeutic agents, in particular small molecules that target Ran, and we will use our preclinical models to test their usefulness. Our research points to an 'Achilles heel' in ovarian cancer cells which we will continue to study and exploit for future therapeutic developments. Our approach would also benefit patients with recurrent disease. This research builds on the strong models we have generated, on an extensive infrastructure between the laboratory and the clinic, and the analysis of the disease we have already undertaken and leaves us poised to impact significantly on the study of ovarian cancer.