Scientists at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have made a significant discovery in treating a dangerous form of endometrial cancer, which is particularly challenging to treat once it spreads or comes back after initial treatment.
This situation affects 15% to 20% of endometrial cancer patients.
Dr. Asmerom Sengal and Associate Professor Pamela Pollock, from QUT’s School of Biomedical Sciences, conducted this groundbreaking research.
Their findings were published in the journal npj Precision Oncology. The strength of their results suggested that their research should move forward to patient trials.
Dr. Asmerom explained that while endometrial cancer that remains within the uterus can often be cured with surgery, the prognosis worsens significantly if the cancer spreads to the abdomen or other organs, leaving patients with few treatment options.
In previous studies, the team discovered that women with endometrial cancer who have a mutated form of a protein on their tumor cells, known as fibroblast growth factor receptor 2c (FGFR2c), tend to have a lower survival rate.
In their latest research, the team developed ‘organoids’, which are like miniature versions of tumors. They grew these from the cancer cells of endometrial cancer patients, using a special gel that allowed them to study the complex structure and genetics of the tumors more closely.
They found that these organoids, which had the FGFR2c activated, responded well to a drug that inhibits FGFR. The drug effectively stopped the growth of these organoids and led to their death.
This finding was further supported by experiments using patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). In these experiments, endometrial cancers from patients were implanted into mice.
Treating these mice with the FGFR2c inhibitor significantly slowed tumor growth and improved the mice’s survival.
An interesting aspect of their research was that the endometrial cancer in the mice, which had activated FGFR2c, showed a considerable reduction in tumor blood vessel formation and in M2-macrophages when treated with the FGFR inhibitor for seven days.
M2-macrophages are a type of immune cell that usually prevents the immune system from attacking cancer cells.
Overall, this study supports the idea of starting a clinical trial that combines an FGFR inhibitor with immunotherapy. This combination could offer a new, personalized approach to treating women with this deadly form of endometrial cancer.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and berry that can prevent cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
The research findings can be found in npj Precision Oncology.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
