Identification, isolation and validation of ovarian cancer stem cells

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage. Even so, it often responds (~73 %) to first-line therapies. However, the five year survival rate for late stage ovarian cancer is poor (~27 %). It is hypothesised that recurrent chemoresistant ovarian cancer is driven by a small residual population of ovarian cancer stem cells (OvCSCs), which have adapted to chemotherapy. This project aims to isolate and characterise OvCSCs with the long-term intention of identifying therapeutically targetable pathways within OvCSCs. Such therapies could minimise the cases of recurrent ovarian cancer and bring the five year survival rate back in line with the first-line therapy response rates.