Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage and with poor long-term survival rates. At first relapse, approximately 25% of patients have platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer and almost all patients with recurrent disease ultimately develop platinum resistance. Platinum resistance, defined as disease relapse occurring within 6 months after the last platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy cycle, is associated with worse PFS and OS, especially in High Grade Serous Ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patients.
Optimal management of recurrent platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer remains an area of uncertainty.
The advent of the immune-oncology Era forced researchers and oncologist to take into account the immunological profile of the host and its modulation during the course of anticancer treatments. This new clinical approach shed a light on the urgent need of better understanding how the circulating immune system behaves during the course of the platinum-resistant disease and whether the analysis of platinum-resistant compared to platinum-sensitive tumor is able to predict, through an immunological signature, the development of platinum resistance.
For this reason, aim of the present study is to evaluate, in 60 primary platinum-resistant HGSOC serological samples derived from peripheral blood collection, a panel of 14 circulating immune-related proteins expression, thus tracing a circulating immunological signature possibly able to predict patients' treatment response and survival outcome. The same signature will be tested on a control cohort of primary platinum-sensitive HGSOC.
Half of samples will be delivered from Tumor Bank Ovarian Cancer Laboratory (TOC Lab), at Department of Gynecology, Charité Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Serological samples will be tested for presence and quantity of the 14 immune-related proteins by a selection panel from ProcartaPlex assay (Thermo Fisher).
