Targeting G9A to block metastasis

OCRF-FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECT

TARGETING G9A TO BLOCK METASTASIS

Institution: QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Lead Researcher: Associate Professor Jason Lee

Funding Awarded: $187,760

Year/s: 2019-2021

Research Pillar: New & Effective Treatments, Managing Recurrence

Project Description:

Associate Professor Jason Lee is investigating new therapies to overcome treatment-resistant ovarian cancer. Recurrent, chemotherapy-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) accounts for most ovarian cancer deaths. Standard treatment for this type of cancer has not advanced and very little improvement in overall survival has been made. Associate Professor Lee hopes to change this, by developing a new drug which can cause cell death in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancers, and also sensitise tumours to chemotherapy. His project will also develop technology to enable earlier detection of ovarian cancer recurrence using less-invasive monitoring. This involves identifying molecular markers associated with treatment-resistant cancer that can be detected using a liquid biopsy.

Expected/Achieved Outcomes:

Knowledge Building: The aim was to develop a method to identify patients for the right treatment – using the inhibitor, standard therapy or a combination approach. The team identified novel diagnostic markers which in turn identify patients most likely to benefit from this novel therapy and they determined a single marker that can monitor their response to therapy. They confirmed that a novel drug they’re working on has anti-cancer activity and promotes cancer cell death but is not toxic to normal cells and it reduces metastatic properties of ovarian cancer cells and enhances the effect of chemotherapy.

Project Status:

The team are continuing to validate their findings in continued studies to further confirm the effectiveness of their novel therapy on G9a and EZH2 targets.

Further Details and Publications:

Medical Journal

Associate Professor Lee’s work has been published in medical journals. Read more here.

Find Out More

Get the latest news, stories & updates.

The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands upon which we work, strive, and learn, the Wurrundjiri Woi wurrung and Bunorung Boon wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and beyond.