Mayo Clinic uncovers new immunotherapy target for ovarian cancer

UAE—Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have announced a significant breakthrough in the fight against ovarian cancer, identifying a novel immunotherapy target known as a cryptic antigen

This discovery, published recently in the journal Science Advances, could lead to improved treatment options for a disease that is often difficult to detect and treat effectively.

Ovarian cancer is particularly challenging because it typically shows few symptoms in its early stages.

As a result, many patients are diagnosed only after the cancer has spread, making treatment more complicated.

Existing immunotherapies and checkpoint inhibitors have had limited success in combating this disease, highlighting the urgent need for new approaches.

Cryptic antigens are parts of proteins, called epitopes, that are normally hidden from the immune system. However, these antigens can be present in tumor cells.

By targeting these usually concealed markers, the immune system can be better directed to recognize and attack cancer cells.

Dr. Marion R. Curtis, Ph.D., an immunologist at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and the senior author of the study, emphasized the importance of exploring alternative targets for ovarian cancer treatment.

She explained that identifying tumor-associated antigens recognized by T cells is critical for the success of immunotherapy in this disease.

Ovarian cancer cells multiply rapidly and can invade healthy tissues, so mobilizing the immune system to fight them is essential.

T cells are a key part of the body’s adaptive immune system.

They specialize in recognizing specific targets, such as infected or cancerous cells, and play a vital role in both fighting infections and controlling cancer growth.

 Enhancing the ability of T cells to detect ovarian cancer cells could significantly improve treatment outcomes.

In their study, the Mayo Clinic team used advanced “multi-omics” techniques, which analyze multiple biological layers—such as the genome, proteome, and epigenome—to better understand the tumor antigens produced by ovarian cancer.

This comprehensive approach helps reveal how these antigens might stimulate an immune response.

Previous research has focused on neoantigens, which are new antigens formed by mutations in cancer cells.

However, ovarian cancers rarely produce these neoantigens, limiting their usefulness as targets for immunotherapy.

The discovery of cryptic antigens opens a promising new avenue for developing treatments.

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to conduct preclinical tests and clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of new immunotherapies and vaccines that target these cryptic antigens.

They also aim to study a larger variety of tumors to see how common cryptic antigen expression is across different cancer types.

This could potentially expand the impact of this approach beyond ovarian cancer.

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