A group of researchers from The Regional Center for Biomedical Research (C.R.I.B., for its acronym in Spanish) of the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), and University Hospital of Albacete (CHUA), have discovered how the combination of inhibitors of two molecules, Auroras Kinasas and CHEK1, increases the death of tumor cells, also affecting the population of "stem" or tumor-initiating cells. In addition, according to the research, the combination of these inhibitors with chemotherapeutic drugs, used in the current treatment of ovarian cancer, such as taxanes and platinum compounds, increases the tumor response to the treatment. This study has been published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics (USA).
This work, signed by Ana Alcaraz as the first author, also proves that high levels of two genes, AURKA and CHEK1, in patients with ovarian tumor are linked to a worse evolution of the disease and a lower survival rate. "These two genes are also amplified in ovarian cancer, which supports their potential as therapeutic targets in these tumors," state the researchers, while arguing that the results of the study point to AURKA and CHEK1 as potential biomarkers in ovarian cancer and, also open up a new therapeutic option for gynecological tumors.
The research has been conducted by Dr. Alberto Ocaña, an oncologist at CHUA and a researcher at the CRIB's Oncology Translational Group. It has been carried out in collaboration with researchers from the "Physiology and Cell Dynamics" group of the CRIB, the UCLM professor Juan Llopis, and the Cancer Research Institute of Salamanca, in collaboration with Doctor Atanasio Pandiella.
This study has been conducted thanks to funding from entities such as: ACEPAIN (for its acronym in Spanish, la Asociación Costuras en la Piel en Apoyo a la Unidad de Investigación de Cáncer en Albacete); the CRIS CANCER Foundation in Madrid, and the Provincial Council of Albacete, as well as other institutions, such as the Institute of Health Carlos III; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Cáncer ( Networking Biomedical Research Centre)—CIBERONC—and the University of Castilla-La Mancha.
Office of Communications, UCLM. Albacete, October 3, 2017