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Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
Posted: Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Patients with ovarian cancer generally have a poor prognosis due to the late stage of diagnosis and the lack of effective therapies for advanced disease and tumor recurrence. Recent study findings, presented by Subir Biswas, PhD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and published in Nature, suggest that immunotherapeutic drugs promote B- and T-cell responses against ovarian cancer may be associated with better outcomes. These findings may ultimately improve patients’ response to treatment and outcomes.
To characterize the role of immune cells in ovarian cancer, the researchers analyzed 534 high-grade serous samples with T- and B-cell markers. In addition, they performed mRNA, protein, and in vivo functional analysis to better understand changes that may affect oncogenic drivers and antigen recognition. Transcriptional changes in tumor cells' inflammatory pathways caused tumor cell death by sensitizing the tumor cells to cytolytic killing by T cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. “Specifically, IgA resulted in inhibition of the RAS signaling pathway, which is known to contribute to ovarian cancer development,” concluded the authors. The study team also assessed that IgA and IgG secreted by the B cells recognized specific ovarian tumor cell-surface markers and stimulated myeloid cells to antagonize tumor growth.
IgA secreted by ovarian cancer plays an important role in the immune response through both antigen-recognition and nonspecific transcytosis through polymeric immunoglobulin receptor–positive tumor cells. “The findings indicate that immunotherapies that boost both coordinated B- and T-cell responses against ovarian cancer, an immunogenic disease currently resistant to checkpoint inhibitors, are likely to show superior therapeutic benefit,” stated Dr. Biswas in an institutional press release.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit nature.com.
