{"id":58707,"date":"2023-11-08T11:30:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T00:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au?post_type=hdsn_news_post&#038;p=58707"},"modified":"2024-07-01T16:51:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T06:51:30","slug":"the-power-of-ifn-e-ovarian-cancer-breakthrough","status":"publish","type":"hdsn_news_post","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/the-power-of-ifn-e-ovarian-cancer-breakthrough\/","title":{"rendered":"The power of IFN-e: ovarian cancer breakthrough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In a significant breakthrough published in the top scientific journal, <em>Nature<\/em> Hudson Institute researchers have linked ovarian cancer to the absence of a naturally occurring protein in the female reproductive tract called interferon epsilon (IFN-e).<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"block--callout flex z-20 text-blue-800 bg-gray-100 p-6 mb-5 sm:mb-8 sm:float-right sm:w-1\/2 sm:ml-6\">\n        <div class=\"cms-content\">\n            <h2 id=\"ovarian-cancer-statistics\">Ovarian cancer statistics<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Last year more than 1,000 Australians died of ovarian cancer,<\/li>\n<li>The likelihood of living more than five years with the disease is still less than 50 per cent<\/li>\n<li>Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late, and the most common treatments have limited effectiveness, with resistance to chemotherapy a major factor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n\n<p>The Hertzog lab research team had <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/\/news\/finding-the-source-of-the-bodys-protection-against-stis\/\">previously discovered<\/a> that IFN-e exists in the female reproductive tract and was acting as a natural booster of immunity to infections.  In this prestigious <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-023-06421-w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nature<\/a><\/em> study, the team have shown that IFN-e is found particularly around the ovaries, but is absent in patients with ovarian cancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team&#8217;s pre-clinical results on ovarian cancer tissue samples were striking, confirming that IFN-e was a very effective natural tumour suppressor in ovarian cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ifn-e-protects-against-ovarian-cancer-development\">IFN-e protects against ovarian cancer development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor Paul Hertzog and the team established that IFN-e serves to protect the healthy body against the development of ovarian cancer, meaning it could potentially be used as a new way to fight the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe now know that IFN-e acts as a natural booster of immunity to infections. Our recent discovery is that IFN-e also acts as a tumour suppressant, and that it is lost during the process of ovarian tumour formation. The next question we need to ask is simply whether replacing this lost IFN-e could eliminate ovarian cancers in a safe and efficient way.\u201d Prof Paul Hertzog<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe most common ovarian cancer treatments have limited effectiveness. This is a disease where new insights were needed,\u201d Prof Hertzog said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-excellence-reaps-rewards-for-ovarian-cancer-treatment\"><strong>Excellence <\/strong>reaps rewards for ovarian cancer treatment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In a distinguished scientific career lasting four decades, Professor Paul Hertzog said that seeing his team&#8217;s latest research published in the influential journal <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-023-06421-w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nature<\/a> <\/em>was a proud moment. While the publication carries prestige, it was the huge amount of work by many team members of the Hertzog lab over several years that gave him the most pride \u2013 specifically what it could mean for the treatment of <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/disease\/cancer\/ovarian-cancer\/\">ovarian cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research builds on 20 years of work harnessing the body\u2019s own system of signalling proteins, specifically the discovery of Interferon epsilon (IFN-e) in 2004 by Prof Hertzog. It was initially driven by PhD student (now Dr) Zoe Marks and post-doc Dr Nollaig Bourke and continued by Dr Nicole Campbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ifn-e-activates-tumour-fighting-response\">IFN-e activates tumour fighting response <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/nicole-campbell\/\">Dr Campbell<\/a> built on the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/research-group\/regulation_of_interferon_and_innate_signalling\/\">Hertzog research group\u2019s<\/a>&nbsp;understanding of IFNs in controlling inflammation, infections and cancer, to show that IFN-e combatted ovarian cancer by activating the body\u2019s immune response to the fight tumours. This places IFN-e in the exciting new class of anti-cancer drugs called immunotherapies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cImmunotherapies have been very successful in the treatment of other types of cancer, but they have had limited success in ovarian cancer \u2013 we\u2019re looking to change that,\u201d Dr Campbell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe know that in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancers (the commonest form of ovarian cancer) tumour cells recruit and activate \u2018immunosuppressive\u2019 cells that prevent anti-tumour immune cells from attacking the tumour. So, we\u2019re aiming to develop new therapeutics that can reverse that process and improve survival rates.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hudson-institute-leaders-in-ifn-e\">Hudson Institute leaders in IFN-e<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof Hertzog explained that since his laboratory\u2019s discovery of IFN-e in 2004, a great deal of progress has been made, with Hudson Institute leading the world in this type of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt Hudson Institute we are now able to produce pure IFN-e, which allows us to conduct incredibly valuable research into how and where it can be used most effectively,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"block--read-more-banner flex z-20 text-blue-800 bg-blue-100 border-l-4 border-blue-500 px-5 py-3 mb-5 sm:mb-8 \">\n        <p class=\"text-base text-blue-800\">\n            <strong class=\"text-sm uppercase\">Read more |&nbsp;<\/strong>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/\/news\/ovarian-cancer-breakthrough-tiny-protein-big-impact\/\" class=\"underline hover:text-pink-500\" target=\"\">Ovarian cancer breakthrough: tiny protein, big impact<\/a>        <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a distinguished scientific career lasting four decades, Professor Paul Hertzog has just about seen it all \u2013 but seeing his team\u2019s latest research published in the influential journal Nature was a proud moment.&hellip;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/the-power-of-ifn-e-ovarian-cancer-breakthrough\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":58708,"menu_order":0,"template":"","issue":[163],"tag":[],"story-type":[85],"treatment-type":[],"class_list":["post-58707","hdsn_news_post","type-hdsn_news_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issue-summer-2023","story-type-discovery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is 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