Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month: How Immunotherapy Fights This High-Occurrence Malignancy

Ovarian cancer is one of several gynecologic malignancies, impacting about 300,000 women globally each year. September has been established as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month to funnel attention and resources towards defeating it. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among the five major gynecologic malignancies, which also include cervical, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. 

The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with stage III or IV ovarian cancer is only 20 percent, but when detected early, can be as high as 95 percent.”  

Stacy Malaker, PhD, CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR

CRI-Funded Scientists Discuss Challenges and Opportunities Against Ovarian Cancers 

A significant factor for why ovarian cancer has such a high mortality rate is that only 20 percent of occurrences are caught before it can spread, as screening measures remain ineffective. To help inhibit this devastating disease’s spread and lethality, CRI has provided over $21 million since 1985 in funding to uncover and develop impactful immunotherapies for ovarian cancer patients. CRI-funded scientists have demonstrated that T cells present in ovarian tumors correlate strongly with an improved survival rate in patients. 

Currently, several CRI-funded scientists are diligently working to further improve immunotherapy outcomes for ovarian cancer patients. Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD, section head of Gynecologic Medical Oncology, member of the Icahn Genomics Institute, and member of the Precision Immunology Institute at the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is a CRI Clinical Accelerator Investigator whose research program focuses on the mechanisms by which the immune system recognizes ovarian cancer cells. Dr. Zamarin says gynecologic malignancies like ovarian cancer are more common and pose higher unmet need than people might realize and can thwart an immune system response. 

“Many studies with immune checkpoint inhibitors have failed to demonstrate a substantial degree of benefit, whether given alone or in combination with chemotherapy,” he explained in conversation with CRI. “The mechanisms for this resistance are not entirely clear but are likely driven by a high degree of genomic instability in ovarian cancer that enables the cancer cells to evolve in response to immune pressure.” 

Dr. Zamarin also mentioned that there is positive news about recent developments regarding ovarian cancer. While there have been no approvals for new immunotherapy treatment in the past year, there are ongoing clinical trials that test novel investigational agents. Among the tested drugs, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are targeted immunotherapies combined with chemotherapy, have demonstrated the greatest potential to help ovarian cancer patients. Oncologists might apply ADCs when a patient’s cancer has spread, returned, or when other treatments prove ineffective. 

Stacy Malaker, PhD, principal investigator in the Malaker Lab at Yale University and 2024 CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR, is pioneering the field of ‘mucinomics,’ by producing complex techniques to analyze the attachment of sugar molecules, or glycosylation, in cancer-associated proteins called mucins. Dr. Malaker is studying sugar molecules attached to proteins called mucins in an attempt to identify novel biomarkers to detect ovarian cancer. 

“The current detection assays often fall short in sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis,” Dr. Malaker told CRI. “Our current work with ovarian cancer is focused on developing an improved biomarker. Currently, the five-year survival rate for women diagnosed in stage III or IV is only 20 percent, but when detected early, can be as high as 95 percent.” 

Since ovarian cancer exhibits high rates of recurrence and lethality, CRI-funded scientists like Drs. Zamarin and Malaker provide crucial perspectives and crucial research on the frontline of the battle against this difficult-to-detect malignancy. 

Conclusion: Vague Symptoms Provide Another Ovarian Cancer Challenge

A non-exhaustive list of symptoms for ovarian cancer includes bloating or a swollen feeling in the stomach, feeling full very soon after beginning to eat, recent urinary frequency, and discomfort in the pelvic area, stomach, or lower back. The vagueness or many of the symptoms adds an added layer of challenges for patients and medical teams to detect this cancer. For a cancer that is difficult to catch and has a high rate of recurrence, it can be helpful to seek medical attention if you or a loved one might be at risk. Through the development of accurate screening tests and the continued diligence of cancer researchers like Drs. Zamarin and Malaker, we will get closer to creating a world immune to cancer.