Researchers begin developing a vaccine against ovarian cancer

A British laboratory has been given a financial boost to develop the world’s first vaccine against ovarian cancer. About 12,000 women people in the US die from ovarian cancer every year, and the disease is often diagnosed at a fairly late stage because two of its common symptoms – bloating and poor appetite – overlap with many other, less serious conditions. Although treatments have improved in recent decades, ovarian cancers remain very difficult to treat only about 50% of women who survive five years or more after diagnosis.

The project to develop the vaccine, funded by Cancer Research UK, will initially focus on women with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. It is well known that carriers of BRCA gene mutations significantly increase the risk of developing breast cancer, but also have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. Women in the general population have a lifetime risk of about 2% for ovarian cancer, but in people who carry BRCA gene mutations the lifetime risk is up to 45%.

“We need better strategies to prevent ovarian cancer,” said Professor Ahmed Ahmed, director of the Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory at the University of Oxford and leader of the OvarianVax project. “Women with BRCA1/2 mutations, who are at very high risk, are offered surgery that prevents cancer but deprives them of the chance to have children afterwards,” says Professor Ahmed.

Currently, women who carry BRCA gene mutations are recommended to have their ovaries removed in their mid-30s, resulting in early menopause.

The proposed vaccine will work very differently from the already available cancer prevention vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer by building immunity against several strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which cause cervical cancer, as well as many cases of oral and throat infections. , rectal and head and neck cancer.

Ovarian cancer, like many other types of cancer, is caused by the buildup of errors in the DNA of cells, eventually causing them to become cancerous. In people with BRCA mutations, this build-up of damage happens much faster than in people without BRCA mutations, putting them at a significantly increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Using ovarian cancer samples donated by patients with the disease, the researchers will look for common mutations that result in abnormal proteins that the immune system recognizes. The researchers then plan to use this information to create a vaccine that prompts the immune system to detect these abnormal proteins.

“Teaching the immune system to recognize the very early signs of cancer is a tough challenge. But we now have very advanced tools that give us real insights into how the immune system recognizes ovarian cancer,” said Professor Ahmed.

If successful, OvarianVax can train a person’s immune system to attack any abnormal ovarian cells as they arise, without the person even knowing anything is wrong.

“OvarianVax could provide the solution to preventing cancer, primarily in high-risk women, but also more widely if trials prove successful,” said Professor Ahmed.

Even if the vaccine’s development is successful, it will have to go through several stages of clinical trials before being approved for use, so it will likely take several years.