Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in women, with more than 22,000 diagnoses and around 14,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone.
A small percentage of ovarian cancers are hereditary, driven by inherited mutations in genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Most ovarian cancers are “sporadic,” however, meaning they are driven by mutations caused by unknown environmental or behavioral factors or by random mutations.
More than half of all ovarian cancers are serous carcinomas. Clear-cell carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma and endometrioid carcinoma each make up 6 to 10 percent of ovarian cancers. High-grade serous cancers, known as HGSCs, are the most common and most lethal type of ovarian cancer.
If found and treated early, ovarian cancer is often survivable. Unfortunately, many patients are diagnosed with late-stage disease because the symptoms can be easily missed, mistaken for something else or dismissed. Our scientists are working to develop biomarkers, molecules that indicate the presence of cancer, to aid in early detection of this disease.
Surgery and chemotherapy are the most common treatments for ovarian cancer. Radiation may also be used, along with targeted therapies and hormone therapies. Fred Hutch researchers continue to refine these treatments and develop new targeted therapies and immunotherapies for the disease.
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Researchers and Patient Treatments | Clinical Trials | Ovarian Cancer Research | Active Projects
Our Ovarian Cancer Researchers
Our interdisciplinary scientists and clinicians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat ovarian cancer as well as other cancers and diseases.
Patient Treatment & Care
At Fred Hutch, our interdisciplinary teams work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our aim is to provide patients access to advanced treatment options while getting the best cancer care.
Selected Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials
Clinical research is an essential part of the scientific process that leads to new treatments and better care. Clinical trials can also be a way for patients to get early access to new cutting-edge therapies. Our clinical research teams are running clinical studies on various kinds of ovarian cancer.
HER2 Expressing Tumors
HER2 overexpression/amplification has been reported in ovarian cancer, but the exact percentage of HER2-positive tumors varies widely in the literature. HER2 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer is more commonly seen in the serous subtype, in older patients, patients with advanced stage and high-grade differentiation.
Advanced / Metastatic
Advanced ovarian cancer means that the cancer has spread outside the ovary. It may have spread within the pelvis or abdomen, or further away to other parts of the body such as the lungs. Some women have advanced ovarian cancer when they are first diagnosed, and treatment can cure their cancer. Ovarian cancer that has metastasized is classified as Stage IV.
Germ Cell Tumors
Germ cell ovarian cancer is a rare type of ovarian cancer where germ cells in the ovaries form malignant tumors. Most people will have either surgery or chemotherapy to treat germ cell ovarian cancer. Treatment can successfully cure germ cell ovarian cancer in most cases, especially in the early stages.
BRCA Mutated
Women with a fault (mutation) in one of the BRCA genes has an greatly increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. In population‐based studies, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are present in 5–15% of all ovarian cancer cases. Often, individuals in which mutations are identified in unselected cases have no family history of either ovarian or breast cancer.
Ovarian Cancer Research
Ovarian cancer research at Fred Hutch encompasses a range of studies. We study risk factors and early detection and are identifying new genetic drivers of this cancer. Our work ranges from
the development of new therapies to the use of data from genetic and protein analysis to discern which patients will respond to treatment.
Risk Factors and Risk Reduction
Obesity has been linked to a higher risk of specific types of ovarian cancer — but not HGSCs, which are the most common and lethal type. Women who have used oral contraceptives have a lower risk of ovarian cancer. Women’s risk also diminishes with their number of full-term pregnancies.
Our epidemiologists continue to explore other factors, including hormonal factors, that influence a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer and how that risk could be lowered. For example, they are investigating whether night-shift work is associated with ovarian cancer, as it is with breast cancer. They are also exploring whether lifestyle factors and medications may help reduce risk of the disease. And they are working to address the poorer cancer care that certain groups — such as the elderly, the economically disadvantaged and communities of color — often receive.
Early Detection, Screening and Biomarkers
Since most ovarian cancers are found at an advanced stage, much of our work on ovarian cancer is in the realm of early detection. For example, our researchers created an effective symptom-screening tool to expedite ovarian cancer diagnoses.
Oncologists use blood levels of the proteins CA125 and HE4 as biomarkers to detect the presence of ovarian cancer. Drawing on patient data from blood and tissue repositories, Our researchers are seeking out new biomarkers that can improve ovarian cancer detection. We are also studying how to improve the use of imaging to pick up the presence of ovarian tumors.
New Treatments
Not all patients respond to ovarian cancer chemotherapies. Our investigators are using genetic and protein analysis — known as proteogenomics — to predict which patients will respond to these toxic treatments. This new approach may also help to identify new biological targets that can be used against the cancer.
Our researchers are also exploring the potential of immunotherapies, which harness the immune system, to treat ovarian cancer.
Molecular and Genetic Research
Many ovarian cancers are driven by inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Our researchers continue to look for new genetic drivers of this disease. They are also studying the ways the body’s immune system responds to ovarian cancer cells and the signaling pathways the cancer cells use.
Case-control study of ovarian cancer (DOVE)
- Mary Anne Rossing, Ph.D., D.V.M.
- Holly Harris, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Using two ovarian cancer case-control studies, scientists are trying to determine why some women develop ovarian tumors and others do not.
Funding Agency: National Cancer Institute
Contact: Holly Harris, hharris@fredhutch.org
PCOS, Type II Diabetes and Ovarian Cancer Risk
Public Health Sciences, EpidemiologyGiven the number of women with PCOS and type II diabetes, researchers are examining the association between these diseases and the risk of ovarian cancer.
Funding Agency: National Cancer Institute
Contact: Holly Harris, hharris@fredhutch.org
The Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants on Kinetics of Immune Response to Vaccines and Sero-Protection in Infants
- Parveen Bhatti, Ph.D.