Organizing the Cellular and Molecular Heterogeneity in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer by Mass Cytometry

Abstract

Tumor heterogeneity in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) represents a significant barrier for successful therapeutic intervention. To further understand the cell types contributing to this heterogeneity we performed a comprehensive phenotypic characterization of 22 primary ovarian tumor samples. Our unsupervised analysis revealed shared and circumscribed patterns of tumor cell types across multiple HGSOC primary samples. In addition to identifying cells characteristic of epithelial tumors we found several repeatedly observed, though previously unrecognized, cell types. These included three unique E-cadherin-expressing cell subsets, cell subsets co-expressing E-cadherin and vimentin and critically one subset that co-expressed high levels of all stem cell markers interrogated. Poorer prognosis tumors had an increased frequency of cells co-expressing vimentin, HE4and cMyc and also showed greater overall phenotypic heterogeneity quantified by Simpsons Diversity Index. Importantly the novel cell types identified have the potential to become a focus for developing new therapies as well as a means of monitoring the disease.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1053958

Entities

People

  • Garry P. Nolan
  • Wendy J. Fantl

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cancer
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Confocal Microscopy
  • Genetics
  • Lymphocytes
  • Medical Personnel
  • Oncology
  • Proteins

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular and genetic basis of cancer.
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).
  • Oncology and Biomarker-Based Cancer Detection.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology