We are moving towards more personalized molecular marker informed treatment for cancer and this includes ovarian cancer. The genomic molecular information also helps classify ovarian cancer into categories so that the best overall treatment plans can be used, balancing quality of life and curative-intent surgery and treatment. Such is the case for the Oxford ovarian cancer classification system recently announced. Since ovarian cancer treatments can be quite toxic, matching the best balance for quality of life in individual patients is a big goal.
The Gynecologic Oncology investigative team is always seeking treatment options that balance cure potential with patient health and survivorship. This involves less invasive robotic surgery for faster recovery as well as molecularly based individualized therapy when possible.
This excerpt gives you an idea about the Oxford Classic classification.
“Oxford researchers have discovered and identified subtypes of ovarian cancer cells that can then be used to identify exactly which subtypes of ovarian cancer are likely to lead to more severe cancer outcomes – an approach that is known as the Oxford Classification of Carcinoma of the Ovary, or Oxford Classic for short.
Serous ovarian cancer (SOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer, but it is difficult to classify and predict its prognosis. Using the Oxford Classic, researchers found that a specific SOC subtype is known as an “EMT high subtype” was associated with lower survival rates.
EMT stands for epithelial-mesenchymal transition, the process by which epithelial cells change and become more mobile. This mobility gives cells the opportunity to spread, which leads to cancer progression. EMT high subtypes are tumors with a high number of cancer cells with greater mobility.”
More information:
Zhiyuan Hu et al. The Oxford classic links the transition from epithelium to mesenchyme with immunosuppression in ovarian cancer with poor prognosis, Clinical Cancer Research (2021). DOI: 10.1158 / 1078-0432.CCR-20-2782 Provided by the University of Oxford
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