Targeting myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment enhances vaccine efficacy in murine epithelial ovarian cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is typically diagnosed at advanced stages, and is associated with a high relapse rate. Patients in remission are ideal candidates for immunotherapy aimed at cure or prolonging disease-free periods. However, immunosuppressive pathways in the tumor microenvironment are obstacles to durable anti-tumor immunity.

Expression and immune responses to MAGE antigens predict survival in epithelial ovarian cancer.

The MAGE cancer-testis antigens (CTA) are attractive candidates for immunotherapy. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of expression, humoral immunity and prognostic significance of MAGE CTA in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). mRNA or protein expression frequencies were determined for MAGE-A1, -A3, -A4, -A10 and -C1 (CT7) in tissue samples obtained from 400 patients with EOC.

A novel cancer/testis antigen KP-OVA-52 identified by SEREX in human ovarian cancer is regulated by DNA methylation.

SEREX has proven to be a powerful method that takes advantage of the presence of spontaneous humoral immune response in some cancer patients. In this study, immunoscreening of normal testis and two ovarian cancer cell line cDNA expression libraries with sera from ovarian cancer patients led to the isolation of 75 independent antigens, designated KP-OVA-1 through KP-OVA-75. Of these, RT-PCR showed KP-OVA-52 to be expressed strongly in normal testis, in ovarian cancer cell lines (3/9) and in ovarian cancer tissues (1/17).

Expression of metabolically targeted biomarkers in endometrial carcinoma.

Objectives: The differential metabolic phenotype observed between malignant and non-transformed cells may constitute a biochemical basis for therapeutic intervention. Increased glucose uptake is one of the major metabolic changes found in malignant tumors, a process that is mediated by glucose transporters such as Glut1. Cellular growth can be regulated by mTOR in response to the nutrient milieu.

The HIV protease inhibitor saquinavir induces endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, and apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.

Objective: HIV patients taking antiretroviral protease inhibitors have a lower incidence of infection-associated malignancies, leading to the hypothesis that these drugs have antineoplastic activity. Given the need for novel treatment approaches in ovarian cancer, we sought to determine whether the protease inhibitor saquinavir has antineoplastic activity in ovarian cancer cell lines, and to elucidate the mechanism through which this occurs.

Methods: A panel of ovarian cancer cell lines was treated with saquinavir.