Project Description:

Increased expression of the protein Hematopoietic Cell Kinase (HCK) is observed in patients with high grade serous ovarian cancer and it is thought to correlate with poor survival rates. Professor Matthias Ernst of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute will investigate whether drugs that target HCK can improve the response of ovarian cancer to existing standard-of-care therapies. The team’s previous research has shown that immune cells that have more HCK protein are better at supporting tumour growth and spread. It has also been observed that drugs that inhibit HCK activity stop the growth and spread of many different tumour types, including stomach and colon cancer. The team therefore consider that current standard-of-care drugs work much better when they are used in combination with anti-HCK drugs. This project will investigate whether anti-HCK drugs can also be combined with existing therapies to boost treatment response in preclinical models of ovarian cancer.