Researchers at Humanitas in Milan have made a groundbreaking discovery in the early detection of ovarian cancer. Their study, published in Science Translational Medicine, reveals that genomic analysis techniques can identify specific molecular alterations in ovarian cancer years before the first symptoms appear.
This discovery has the potential to revolutionize the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer, significantly impacting the effectiveness of treatment and survival rates. Dr. Maurizio D’Incalci, Professor of Pharmacology at Humanitas University, and Dr. Sergio Marchini, head of the Translational Genomics Unit at Irccs Istituto Clinico Humanitas, emphasize the critical role of early detection in improving outcomes for ovarian cancer patients.
The study analyzed Pap test swabs from 113 women who later developed ovarian cancer, and identified genomic instability in the samples up to nine years before the cancer was diagnosed. This suggests that the molecular signature of ovarian cancer may be detectable through routine cervical cancer screening tests.
Dr. Marchini explains, “Already in the early stages of the tumor transformation process, the DNA of future neoplastic cells is characterized by profound anomalies. Genomic instability is a primitive characteristic and not shared with healthy cells, making it an excellent starting point for developing an early diagnosis test.”
The implications of this study are significant, offering hope for more effective early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer. Further research and larger studies are needed to validate these findings, but the potential impact of this discovery is undeniable.
For the full article, visit Il Messaggero.