A researcher uses a body model to highlight where ovarian cancer occurs. Getty Image Bank
A research team led by a Korean scientist has developed an antibody that directly targets ovarian cancer for the first time. There is growing interest in whether this will lead to the development of new treatments that can replace surgery or chemical treatments.
According to the science and technology community on the 8th, the research team led by Lee Gwang-guk, head of new protein drug research at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), discovered an antibody that targets a protein that promotes the progression of ovarian cancer and published the research results in the international journal “Ovarian Cancer Research” last month.
Ovarian cancer, which occurs in 2,500 cases in Korea every year, is a malignant tumor of the ovaries. Among tumors, it is considered one of the most difficult tumors to treat. If discovered early, one can expect complete recovery through surgery, but since the initial symptoms are minimal, it is mostly discovered at a late stage.
Even if discovered early, cancer cannot be removed if it has spread to a place where surgery is difficult. Chemical treatment with antibiotics often becomes ineffective as the patient develops antibiotic resistance during treatment. For this reason, there has been an active movement in academia to find new treatments for ovarian cancer.
Among new treatment candidates, treatment using antibodies targeting only ovarian cancer has received attention. This is due to the discovery of “MUC16”, a protein that promotes ovarian cancer. This protein, which accelerates the progression of ovarian cancer and suppresses immune function, has only recently been characterized in detail. It takes two different forms when it interacts with ovarian cancer cells. It has been confirmed that there is a split-protein form and a combined form with ovarian cancer cells in the cell membrane of ovarian cancer cells.
Based on these characteristics, the research team developed an antibody that directly targets the MUC16 protein. As confirmed using X-ray diffraction, this antibody effectively killed ovarian cancer cells by binding to MUC16. The excellent ability to eliminate tumor cells was confirmed in animal experiments that examined the effect of this antibody by combining it with T cells, which are immune cells.
An antibody treatment that combines the antibody developed by the research team with T cells is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States. It is led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the United States. Phase 1 clinical trials are expected to be completed in August this year.
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