DNA repair pathway information could predict chemotherapy response in ovarian cancer patients

Most advanced ovarian cancer patients undergo surgery to remove as much tumor as possible, and then undergo platinum-based chemotherapy. But predicting response to chemotherapy is difficult. In order to determine if information about DNA repair pathways could help predict outcomes for ovarian cancer patients, Josephine Kang, of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues gathered gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and established a molecular score by looking at the genes involved in platinum-induced DNA damage repair pathways. The patients were placed either into low or high score categories, and the prognostic value of the score for overall survival, recurrence free survival, and progression-free survival was assessed. The researchers found that patients with high scores showed a statistically significant improved overall survival compared to the patients with low scores.