For more than two decades, the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine has been a mainstay treatment for several types of cancer, producing remissions in many patients on its own or conjunction with other drugs. Now, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have uncovered, for the first time, genetic evidence of which patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) are likely to benefit from the drug.
In a study in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers identified a biomarker – a genetic signature within HGSOC tumor cells – indicating the cells are experiencing “high replication stress,” or RS-high. Cells in this state, struggling to replicate their DNA at high speed, are especially susceptible to gemcitabine, researchers found.
