Andre Lieber, MD, PhD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Clonality Analysis in Ovarian Cancer
In preliminary studies, Dr. Lieber’s laboratory has identified new markers for ovarian cancer ovca stem cells. In this new study, his team will continue to address the concept of ovarian cancer stem cells and the phenotypic plasticity of ovarian cancer cells. Dr. Lieber proposes that various subsets of ovca stem cells exist that may alter phenotype depending on external factors (such as chemotherapy). He will be using a new approach to determine whether tumors arise from a single progenitor cell by tracking lentiviral intergration sites in primary ovarian tumors grown in mice with and without cisplatin treatment. This study will expand his team’s search for cancer stem cell markers and their attempt to track single cancer stem cells in tumors after transplantation into mice, and will contribute to a better understanding of treatment resistance of ovarian cancer.