Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine found that the most deadly form of ovarian cancer arises in the fallopian tubes of knockout mice that lack two genes associated with the disease.

“Our mouse model will help us translate this information into direct patient care, changing the way we screen, diagnose, and treat this deadliest form of ovarian cancer,” says Martin Matzuk, MD, vice chair and professor of pathology and immunology, molecular and human genetics, molecular and cellular biology, and pharmacology at Baylor College of Medicine.

In the study, Matzuk and his colleagues show that the disease does not arise within the ovary but instead from the fallopian tubes in mice that lack two genes—Dicer and Pten. Mutations in each gene have recently been shown to be altered in women with high-grade serious ovarian cancer.

Further analysis of the mice show that the tumors originate in fallopian tube cells internal to the surface layer—the stroma. “The study suggests that these epithelial cancers (those believed to arise from the cells that line body cavities and cover flat surfaces of the body) derive from stem cells in the stroma via a novel differentiation mechanism,” says Jaeyeon Kim, MD, a post-doctoral fellow in Matzuk’s laboratory.

The research appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Release Date: Feb 13, 2012
Source: Baylor College of Medicine