QWhen talking about tumors it is good to be clear straight away. The definitive solution has not been discovered, nor the infallible way to diagnose ovarian cancer when it is still in its infancy. However, it certainly happened a big step forward which in this industry means that many lives can be saved more easily. All thanks to one new studyrecently published in the scientific journal “Science Translational Medicine”, conducted by a group of researchers Humanitas University from Milan.
The sooner we find out the better
This applies to all tumors, but for ovarian cancer it is even more important. An early diagnosis truly saves lives. This is why all women are invited to have a Pap test. It’s a simple test that can be performed during a gynecologist visit control. And it must be carried out at least every two years. Precisely by using a type of analysis, it was possible to discover that the DNA of the ovarian tumor cells was present many years earlier on these swabs. Here’s how we did it.
The study analyzed Pap smears from women with cancer
The research was conducted retrospectively. In practice, we analyzed “old” Pap tests from women who were then diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This was also possible thanks to collaboration of other hospitals and Italian research centers: the IRCCS San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, IRCCS Policlinico Gemelli in Rome, IRCCS National Cancer Institute in Milan, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, the Oncology Reference Center of Aviano, the City University Hospital of Health and Science of Turin, the Mario Negri Institute of Milan and the University of Padua. In total 113 Pap tests were analyzed of women from all over Italy.
Instability can sometimes be helpful
What made the difference in the study conducted by Humanitas researchers was the idea of evaluating a molecular characteristic in Pap tests that only tumor cells have: theirs genomic instability. «Today we know that already in the early stages of the tumor transformation process, the DNA of future tumor cells is characterized by profound structural anomalies» explains the professor Sergio Marchini, head of the Translational Genomics Unit of the Humanitas Clinical Institute of Rozzano (Milan). «Genomic instability it is a characteristic of tumor cells which is not shared with healthy ones. This, however, is an excellent starting point for developing an early diagnosis test for ovarian cancer” concludes the expert.
The study was based on a comparison
The Pap tests used in the study were taken before the women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The technique used to analyze them is that of DNA sequencing. This method allows us to detect even small traces of genetic material and measure its genomic instability. The results were then compared with 77 other Pap tests from healthy women.
Gynecological examination and Pap test are essential to prevent ovarian cancer (Getty Images)
The tumor is seen much earlier
The results of the study are truly encouraging. «The data demonstrate that the technique we used recognizes the presence of tumor DNA with years in advance, compared to the manifestation of the disease” they explain Lara Paracchinie Laura Mannarino. They are the first authors of the study, for which they oversaw the laboratory experiments and the bioinformatics analysis of the data respectively. In one case, they even “discovered” the tumor nine years earlier of his debut.
Because these results are important for the fight against cancer
Surviving ovarian cancer depends greatly on when the disease is discovered. For this reason, making the diagnosis even earlier means improving the possibility of recovery. «This is what we believe is possible thanks to this innovative approach. Which is also applicable on a large scale. And it is not invasive”, explains Professor Maurizio D’Incalci, professor of pharmacology at Humanitas University. The analysis of genomic instability will allow us to reduce the number of women who discover they have advanced ovarian cancer. To achieve this aim, however, it is important that the new investigation leaves the researchers’ laboratories and enters the gynecologists’ clinics. It will be possible?
It must become an exam for everyone
«Diagnostic tests they must be evaluated in the real world, on large numbers of patients and prospectively. Only in this way will it be possible to demonstrate that by detecting these traces of “unstable” DNA we are truly able to predict the tumor” clarifies the professor Maurizio D’Incalci, professor of pharmacology at Humanitas University and head of the anti-tumor pharmacology laboratory at the Humanitas Clinical Institute.
We need everyone’s help
The study conducted by Humanitas researchers was also possible thanks to the support of Alessandra Bono Foundationand of TOirc for cancer research and Alliance Against Cancer. The research will continue also thanks to the contribution of Rinascente through the Humanitas Foundation for Research. Demonstrating how we can all do something, so that this, but also other cancers, become a bad memory.
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