The Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Promoting Ovarian Cancer Growth and Spread
Abstract
Despite more than three decades of therapies that selectively target the tumor cells, the 5-year survival rate for metastatic ovarian cancer patients remains at less than 30%. New strategies that can change this dismal scenario are urgently needed to improve or complement classical treatments for this malignancy. Targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) represents one such new therapeutic strategy. Tumors depend on a supportive microenvironment to thrive and disseminate. Experimental clinical strategies that target the ovarian tumor microenvironment are beginning to show some promise. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to reside in TME or tumor stroma. Therefore, gene-modified MSCs that can act as Trojan horses and deliver anti-cancer therapeutics into the tumor stroma are being evaluated as a promising new specific cell-based therapy for cancer. We established that MSCs promoted ovarian tumor growth. We have also developed new methodology to induce the standard mixed pool of MSCs into two uniform but distinct phenotypes, MSC1 and MSC2. In recent studies we found that when we delivered MSC2 into mouse models of ovarian cancer, tumors grew and spread faster. Whereas surprisingly when we delivered MSC1 into the mice there was an opposite anti-tumor effect. We do not yet know the mechanisms behind this MSC1 mediated inhibition of tumor growth.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA590590
Entities
People
- Aline M. Betancourt
Organizations
- Tulane University of Louisiana