Scientists from the IEM CAS have presented a new study that shows a relationship between telomere length and prognosis in ovarian cancer patients

Scientists from the Department of Molecular Biology of Cancer of the IEM CAS and other centres affiliated with the National Cancer Institute recently presented the results of their research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting, showing that there is a relationship between telomere length and the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients.

In their study entitled Telomere length as a predictor of therapy response and survival in patients diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma (open in a new window), they tested the DNA of peripheral blood leukocytes and tumour tissue cells in 209 ovarian cancer patients using monochromatic multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The methylation status and gene expression of shelterin (a complex of six different protein subunits that protects telomeres from degradation, recombination, and chromosomal end fusion) and the catalytic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) were determined in tumour tissues by high-throughput DNA methylation profiling and RNA sequencing, respectively. Shortened telomeres have also been shown to be present in leukocytes (essential for proper immune system function), and patients responding to platinum-based chemotherapy were shown to have significantly shorter telomeres in peripheral blood cells than patients who were resistant to treatment. This biomarker could help in future treatment planning. According to another finding, shorter telomere length of ovarian cancer cells statistically significantly predisposed patients to better overall survival.

The researchers are now investigating whether this marker can serve as a biomarker of treatment response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

This text was published in the summer double issue of Vesmír magazine (open in a new window –available only in Czech).