Genetic analysis of ovarian granulosa cell tumours
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Genetic analysis of ovarian granulosa cell tumours
IRAS ID
178569
Contact name
Esther Moss
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Granulosa cell tumours (GCTs) of the ovary are a unique subset of ovarian tumours that account for approximately 5% of all ovarian malignancies. They are thought to arise from granulosa cells, or the support cells that help to nurture the oocyte during follicle maturation. The majority of GCT cases are diagnosed in Stage I (early stage) and these patients typically have a favourable prognosis with a >90% overall 5-year survival rate. However, up to 50% of women will suffer from tumour recurrence and around 80% of patients with recurrent disease may succumb to death. The high likelihood of late disease relapse means that the onset of recurrence is unpredictable, as GCTs are known to recur within five and up to forty years following the initial diagnosis, making recurrence surveillance (screening) difficult to conduct. Despite the impact of this disease on affected women, very little is known about the molecular changes that are involved in the pathogenesis of GCTs. Furthermore, currently there are no markers that can reliably predict the likelihood of disease relapse in GCT patients. Therefore the fundamental aim of this work is to understand the genetic defects, including DNA mistakes (mutations) or abnormal patterns of gene expression (gene expression profiles), that are unique to GCTs and can ultimately be exploited for GCT diagnosis in the clinical setting. Our goal is to use this molecular knowledge to improve the current markers of GCT for early detection of primary disease (diagnostic markers), to identify clinically useful markers that can be used for predicting patient prognosis (prognostic markers) or tumour recurrence (recurrence markers), and lastly, to provide new treatment targets and strategies that may help to develop GCT-specific therapies to treat women with GCTs.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0275
Date of REC Opinion
29 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion