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Cancer
Liquid Biopsies Offer Hope for Earlier Treatment, Better Tracking of Ovarian Cancer
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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Researchers at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine have found a promising new way to monitor and treat recurrence of ovarian cancer — a hard-to-detect disease that claims many lives. New research from George Vasmatzis, Ph.D., of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, finds liquid biopsies from blood tests and DNA sequencing can detect a return of ovarian cancer long before a tumor reappears. That could lead to earlier intervention and more effective, individualized treatment. Dr. Vasmatzis’ research on the “Quantification of Somatic Chromosomal Rearrangements in Circulating Cell-free DNA From Ovarian Cancers” is published in the July 20 edition of Scientific Reports.
“With liquid biopsies, we don’t have to wait for tumor growth to get a DNA sample,” says Dr. Vasmatzis. “This important discovery makes it possible for us to detect recurrence of the disease earlier than other diagnostic methods. We can repeat liquid biopsies to monitor the progression of the cancer. That gives hope of a better treatment plan over time.”
The study was done on 10 patients in advanced stages of ovarian cancer. Blood was drawn before and after surgery. Investigators compared DNA from the liquid blood biopsies to DNA tissue samples from the tumor, using mate-pair sequencing — an inexpensive whole exome sequencing that can reveal genetic changes that contribute to tumor growth.
MEDIA CONTACT: Susan Buckles, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
“In this study, the blood drawn before and after surgery and the surgical tissue was used to identify DNA fragments with abnormal junctions that can only be seen in this patient’s tumor DNA,” explains Dr. Vasmatzis. “Next-generation mate-pair sequencing was used to identify specific DNA changes of the tumor to create an individualized monitoring panel for liquid biopsy. This allows us to shape treatment to the individual patient rather than using a standard treatment that may not work for everyone.”
When post-surgery DNA matched that of the tumor, patients were later found to have had a recurrence of ovarian cancer. However, when the post-surgery DNA did not match the DNA of the tumor, patients were found to be in remission.
Ovarian cancer has one of the highest death rates of all gynecological cancers, because the tumor often cannot be detected until the late stages. Most patients go into remission after initial treatment, but the tumor returns 75 percent of the time. The next stage of ovarian cancer that develops typically does not respond to chemotherapy. More than 21,000 women in the U.S. were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 14,000 women died of the disease in 2015.
Additional authors on the research team ─ all of Mayo Clinic ─ are:
- Faye Harris
- Irina Kovtun, Ph.D.
- James Smadbeck, Ph.D.
- Francesco Multinu, M.D.
- Aminah Jatoi, M.D.
- Farhad Kosari , Ph.D.
- Kimberly Kalli, Ph.D.
- Stephen Murphy, Ph.D.
- Geoffrey Halling
- Sarah Johnson
- Minetta Liu, M.D.
- Andrea Mariani, M.D.
This work was supported by the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, the Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation and the Mayo Clinic Ovarian Cancer Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, P50 CA 136393. Francesco Multinu is a research fellow supported by the University of Cagliari in Italy.
About Center for Individualized Medicine
The Center for Individualized Medicine discovers and integrates the latest in genomic, molecular and clinical sciences into personalized care for each Mayo Clinic patient. For more information, visit http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/center-for-individualized-medicine/.
About the Mayo Clinic Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
The Mayo Clinic Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and its reference laboratory Mayo Medical Laboratories provide advanced laboratory testing and pathology services to support 5,000 health care organizations around the world.
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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/.
