HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Researchers at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology reveal new findings for ovarian cancer and say it's key for treatment.
Researchers say they are looking into more 'personalized approaches' to cancer treatment, based on the genetics of a patient. Scientists HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator, Sara Cooper, Ph.D., and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) collaborator Rebecca Arend, MD, published a paper on this study in the Clinical Cancer Research journal.
The study explores the genetics of ovarian cancer and possible new therapeutic targets.
"Some of the things that are important for cancer, in general, are identifying differences with different tumors that make one treatment more effective than another for a particular individual for a patient," said Cooper.
"Our study looked at tumors to try to identify new pathways that can be targeted for treatment," added Cooper. "We found differences across subtypes of high-grade serous ovarian tumors, which supports the use of genomic and metabolic information to help select treatments and predict treatment outcomes on an individualized basis," said Cooper.
HudsonAlpha also worked on past projects, including research on breast, pancreatic, and childhood cancers.
In addition to cutting-edge cancer research, HudsonAlpha said Cooper also leads a genetic testing initiative called Information is Power. Over the past six years, the program has offered free or reduced-cost genetic tests to residents of five North Alabama counties. The test looks at several dozen genes associated with increased risk for breast, ovarian, colon, and endometrial cancers.
HudsonAlpha said 'The initiative recently expanded its reach beyond North Alabama to individuals throughout the state. Information is Power has forged collaborations with #NowIncluded and Montgomery area physicians to increase their reach to more medically underserved areas throughout the state'.
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