Researchers have made a big discovery that could help save lives by finding a deadly kind of ovarian cancer earlier and treating it better. This discovery gives doctors hope and could lead to new ways to catch the disease before it spreads.
Ovarian cancer is a serious disease and is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in women. Sadly, most women who are told they have ovarian cancer live less than five years. One reason is that it’s very hard to find the cancer early. It usually doesn’t cause clear symptoms at the beginning, and there isn’t a good test to check for it.
The most dangerous type of ovarian cancer is called high-grade serous carcinoma, or HGSC. Scientists have long thought that this cancer might not start in the ovaries themselves but in the fallopian tubes, which are thin tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus. But until now, they didn’t know exactly where the cancer began or how it started.
Now, a team of researchers led by Dr. Alexander Nikitin from Cornell University has found something important. They discovered that a certain kind of cell in the fallopian tube—called a pre-ciliated cell—is likely where this cancer begins.
These pre-ciliated cells are in the middle stage of changing from stem cells into fully formed ciliated cells. Ciliated cells have tiny hair-like parts that help move eggs and fluid through the fallopian tubes. In the past, scientists focused on stem cells as the ones that might turn into cancer, but this new study shows a different story.
In their research, the scientists turned off two important cancer-fighting genes called TP53 and RB1. These genes normally help prevent cancer. When they turned off these genes in stem cells, those cells simply died. But when they turned them off in pre-ciliated cells, cancer started to grow.
They tested this by using mice that had been changed in the lab to help study genes. In mice, these two genes are called Trp53 and Rb1. The scientists turned off these genes in different kinds of cells in the fallopian tubes. Only the pre-ciliated cells grew into cancer.
This is a major breakthrough. It clearly shows which cells may start this fast-growing cancer. Scientists are especially excited because the process of how cilia (the tiny hairs) grow is already well known. That gives doctors a better chance of spotting when things go wrong.
The team also found a gene called Krt5 that is very active in these pre-ciliated cells. In more tests, when they turned off Trp53 and Rb1 in cells with high Krt5 levels, the mice quickly developed cancer. This proves that these cells are the real starting point.
This discovery could help in many ways. It could lead to tests that find the cancer earlier by looking for these special cells. It could also help doctors create new treatments that stop the cancer from forming. And it might lead to better ways to screen women for risk.
Although this study was done in mice, the researchers say that human fallopian tubes are very similar. That means the results may apply to people too. They still need to study human tissue to be sure, but the findings offer real hope.
Dr. Nikitin and his team believe this discovery could one day help create personal treatment plans for women who are at higher risk. This could help save lives and give women better chances of surviving ovarian cancer.
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