Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science announced Tuesday they have discovered, in a world first, that specialized immune cells known as memory B cells can recognize and attack ovarian cancer tumors.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer worldwide, with a five-year survival rate below 50 percent.

The peer-reviewed study, conducted in Prof. Ziv Shulman’s lab in Weizmann’s Department of Systems Immunology, challenges the scientific assumption that immune memory B cells only respond to external invaders such as viruses and bacteria.

The research, led by Dr. Nachum Nathan, appeared in Immunity. It identified memory cells that zeroed in on ovarian tumors and produced effective antibodies against them.

The findings pave the way for the development of vaccines and therapies that harness immune memory to fight cancer.

“If we suggest that there are memory cells, antibody-forming cells that remember the tumor, and we can activate them with a vaccine, then we can make cancer vaccines that stimulate these cells,” said Shulman, who supervised the research. “I’m very excited. It’s a new idea, a totally new approach to vaccines for cancer patients.”

Contrary to what was formerly believed, scientists now recognize that the most common ovarian cancer, high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, or HGSOC, does not begin in the ovaries but in the fallopian tubes close to the ovaries, Shulman explained.

Inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are the most significant known risk factors for ovarian cancer. Jewish women of Ashkenazi descent face a significantly higher lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer since they are about 10 times more likely to carry these faulty genes than the general population.

When there is a mutation in the BRCA gene, it can no longer produce the essential proteins needed to repair cellular DNA damage, thereby triggering aggressive tumor growth.

Currently, there is no reliable screening test to diagnose ovarian cancer, and a cervical cancer smear test, or a Pap test, cannot detect it.

Its symptoms, which include........

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