Last week’s chalk talks presented a valuable opportunity for all 0f us to learn about the science we are contributing to as individuals and as a group. One such talk was Vidita’s discussion on the potential role of POSTN in ovarian cancer cells’ sensitivity to chemotherapy. She began her talk with an explanation of the stages to ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment, including the diagnosis of the tumor, treatment using platinum-based chemotherapy, and remission. For the purposes of her and her lab’s research, this also included recurrence of the tumor, tumor resistance to the platinum-based chemotherapy, and progression of the cancer. In order to gain a better understanding of the factors involved in this tumor recurrence and resistance to chemotherapy, her research focuses on the tumor microenvironment – specifically, how the presence of POSTN in the tumor microenvironment affects the chemosensitivity of ovarian tumors. This microenvironment consists of non-tumor cells, extracellular matrix, and blood vessels. In humans, the POSTN gene encodes the periostin protein, which functions as a ligand to support the adhesion and migration of epithelial cells (or cells that line major cavities of the body). It has been reported that large amounts of periostin are found in the microenvironment of recurring tumors, which lends support to the hypothesis that this protein does indeed contribute to chemotherapy resistance in cancerous cells by supporting the progression of the cancer.
I appreciated that Vidita began with a brief description of the motives underlying her lab’s research, namely the interrogation of the role of the tumor microenvironment in ovarian tumor recurrence. She also did a good job of incorporating and explaining terminology that would perhaps be unfamiliar to a general audience. It would be interesting to see what the next step would be for these findings, particular in terms of treatments and application to other cancers.
