Pitt Researchers: Gene Therapy Inhibits Ovarian Cancer Growth

University Of Pittsburgh researchers have used gene therapy to either completely abolish or significantly inhibit tumor progression in a mouse model of ovarian cancer.

These findings were presented at the American Society of Gene Therapy annual meeting in Baltimore over the weekend.

Researchers believe this breakthrough may significantly improve the prognosis for ovarian cancer patients.

Ovarian cancer is diagnosed in more than 25,000 women in the United States each year, and about 16,000 American women die from the disease annually.

Despite aggressive surgery and chemotherapy approaches, the prognosis for ovarian cancer is poor, and most women have a life expectancy of only three to four years after their diagnoses.

The Pitt researchers found complete inhibition of tumor growth in the mice that were treated immediately with gene therapy and significant tumor inhibition in the 30- and 60-day delayed treatment mice.

In contrast, all non-gene-therapy treated mice either died or were euthanized due to overwhelming buildup of fluid in the peritoneal cavity by 94 days following tumor inoculation.

According to corresponding author David L. Bartlett, M.D., professor of surgery and chief of the division of surgical oncology at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine, gene therapy offers an attractive new approach for treating ovarian cancer.

According to Bartlett, “Current treatments for ovarian cancer are fairly harsh.”

He said this therapy offers a potent, non-toxic alternative for treating the deadly disease.