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Heidi Gray, M.D. University of Washington
Identification of an Immunologic Signature of Ovarian Cancer for Use as an Early Cancer Screen
Summary
Ovarian cancer is a lethal disease that is commonly not detected until advanced stages and is associated with a poor overall survival. Currently, an effective early screening test does not exist and discovery of a precursor lesion in ovarian cancer has remained elusive. Therefore, there clearly is a need to develop novel diagnostic strategies to aid in the early detection of ovarian cancer. The goal of this proposal is to develop a serum based assay that evaluates the use of antibody immunity as a diagnostic tool for early detection of ovarian cancer. There is ample evidence in the literature demonstrating the immunogenicity of ovarian cancer. Previous work has described several tumor associated antigens and has shown patients have an ability to mount a T cell response to these antigens. Additionally, it is well documented that evidence of exposure to tumor antigens exists by assaying for antibodies to tumor associated antigens (TAAs). Evidence of this antibody response has been shown to occur early in tumorigenesis and therefore has potential for use as an early detection screen. The work proposed here will identify the immunologic signature of ovarian cancer composed of a panel of serum antibodies. The study will be done using serum samples from ovarian cancer patients and age-matched volunteer donors. The samples will be analyzed using a high-throughput technique that combines the use of a phage display library and protein array. This technique makes it possible to evaluate hundreds of phage-expressed proteins simultaneously to identify those that define the immunologic signature associated with ovarian cancer. The results of this study will provide data on the feasibility of multi-parametric immune based assays in discriminating patients with cancer from non-tumor bearing individuals and provide the basis for a definitive application validating the approach.
Bio
Dr. Heidi Gray is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UW. She received her M.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 1997, and completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training at the UW. She completed her fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Concurrently, she was an instructor for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1999, Dr. Gray received the Berlex Award for Best Teaching Second Year Resident at UW, as well as the Gallway Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In 2001, she received the David C. Figge Award for Outstanding Chief Resident in Gynecologic Oncology, UW. Her research has been funded by the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
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