Meet Dr Gwo Yaw Ho 

Thinking outside the box

A major barrier to treating ovarian cancer is the immune system’s limited ability to recognise and attack ovarian cancer tumour cells. Thanks to donor support, researchers like Dr Ho are developing new approaches that could transform how ovarian cancer is treated, including ways to make it more responsive to immunotherapies that have worked so well in other cancers.  

Combination therapies that pack a punch

Dr Ho’s OCRF-funded research is exploring a new treatment combination in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the most common and aggressive form of gynaecological cancer due to its high rates of recurrence.

The combination involves two existing cancer drugs that are approved to treat other conditions – one is a ‘cell cycle checkpoint inhibitor’, and the other is a very low-dose chemotherapy drug. Both are taken in tablet form. In laboratory studies, this combination has been shown to kill a wide range of ovarian cancer cells, including those resistant to standard treatments.  

Importantly, early laboratory studies suggest this combination avoided harmful cell stress, which may mean that side effects such as hair loss that occur with higher doses may be reduced or prevented.

If successful, this project could offer a powerful new way to combine immunotherapy with drugs that 'reprogram' the immune system to recognise and fight ovarian cancer cells.

The researchers hope to extend this work in the future beyond high-grade serous ovarian cancer to other ovarian cancer subtypes, such as clear cell ovarian cancer.