Each year, MOCA funds research which advances the treatments and cure for ovarian cancer. All of the money dedicated to research stays in the state of Minnesota. In 2003, MOCA funded $218,372 to four medical research projects. A summary of this research is listed below.
Research Title |
2003 Approved Researcher and Institution |
Amount Funded |
Anti-angiogenic Gene Therapy of Ovarian Cancer |
Submitted by Sundaram Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota. |
$73,372 |
Hunger Pain in Ovarian Cancer Patients with Malignant Bowel Obstruction |
Submitted by Aminah Jatoi, M.D. Department of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic
|
$27,000 |
Functional Significances of Loss of Pro-apoptotic Protein Htr1 in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Implications of Platinum Resistance |
Dr. Viji Shridhar, Ph.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mayo Clinic |
$54,000 |
Improving the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer: Understanding the Role of Spheroids in the Spread of Ovarian Carcinoma |
Submitted by Amy Skubitz, Ph.D., Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota
|
$64,000 |
Total Funded for 2003 Research |
|
$218,732 |
“Anti-angiogenic Gene Therapy of Ovarian Cancer” submitted by S. Ramakrishnan, Ph.D. Dollars funded $73,372.
Antiogenic therapies will be very useful in preventing recurrence of ovarian cancer after surgical debulking and chemotherapy. Lack of side effects from angiogenesis inhibitors allows its long term use. The study’s specific goal is, therefore, to develop a gene therapy method to express angiogenesis inhibitors in the peritoneum so that recurrence of ovarian cancer can be prevented.
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“Hunger Pain in Ovarian Cancer Patients with Malignant Bowel Obstruction” submitted by Aminah Jatoi, M.D., Mayo Clinic. Dollars funded $27,000.
This study would be a therapeutic trail to test whether a nicotine oral vapor inhaler might play a role in palliating hunger pain for women with malignant bowel obstruction who cannot eat. It would also explore the role of hormones, ghrelin [a hunger enhancer] and leptin [a hunger suppressor] in hunger pain.
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“Functional Significances of Loss of Pro-apoptotic Protein HtrA1 in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Implications of Platinum Resistance” submitted by Viji Shridhar, Ph.D, Mayo Clinic. Dollars funded $54,000.
This study will define the role of HtrA1 down regulation in the clinical behavior of ovarian cancers in response to platinum based therapy. If successful, these experiments will not only characterize a novel mechanism of drug resistance, but also provide a basis for exploring novel approaches towards reversal of platinum resistance in ovarian cancer.
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“Improving the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer: Understanding the Role of Spheroids in the Spread of Ovarian Carcinoma ” submitted by Amy Skubitz, Ph.D., Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota.
This study will identify cells adhesion proteins on spheroids that allow them to adhere to the mesothelial cell layer, a common site of secondary tumor growth in ovarian cancer. Individual cells will be examined to establish their ability to migrate out of spheroids as well as their ability to invade through extracellular matrix molecules.
View Inoperable Bowel Obstruction Research Mayo July 2004 (PDF)
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