Detecting Early Stage Ovarian Cancer

Detecting Early Stage Ovarian Cancer

Researchers at UAB have developed the first highly sensitive, non-invasive method of detecting and monitoring ovarian cancer, according to a study published in the September issue of Gynecologic Oncology. Researchers engineered a common cold virus to infect cancer cells with a green fluorescent protein that illuminates the cells. "In animal models, very small tumors -- the size of the head of a pen -- were seen using a fluorescent stereomicroscope," says Tandra Chaudhuri, Ph.D., a radiology expert at UAB. The study also found the technique useful in monitoring the effectiveness of cancer therapy. "Green fluorescent cancer cells gradually die until they are no longer detectable following successful treatment." Chaudhuri expects clinical trials using this method to begin within two years.

Contact Joy Carter, Media Relations, 205-934-1676 or [email protected].

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