Ovarian Autoantibodies Predict Ovarian Cancer
Principal Investigator:
LUBORSKY, JUDITH
Institution Receiving Award:
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Program:
OCRP
Proposal Number:
OC073325
Award Number:
W81XWH-08-1-0203
Funding Mechanism:
Concept Award
Partnering Awards:
Award Amount:
$110,942.00
Period of Performance:
5/1/2008 - 11/30/2010
PUBLIC ABSTRACT
Ovarian cancer affects about 25,000 women annually. Most cases are diagnosed late with less than a 20% probability of survival. Late diagnosis occurs because there is no routine screening or diagnostic test. Our objective is to evaluate a novel risk factor for ovarian cancer. We will test the idea that antibodies to the ovary predict ovarian cancer. We will use the egg-laying hen, a spontaneous animal model of ovarian cancer to test this idea. The development of ovarian cancer will be measured in animals with and without antibodies to the ovary. Demonstrating that antibodies to the ovary precede ovarian cancer would expand the number of measurable risk factors for ovarian cancer and revolutionize screening for ovarian cancer. An ovarian antibody diagnostic test would make it possible to detect ovarian cancer at very early stages when treatment is more effective. Expanding the number of measurable risk factors for ovarian cancer would also provide a new method of selecting patients for studies of the causes of ovarian cancer. |
