Kathryn Hudack
Research Mentor(s): Laura Kresty
Mentor Department: Section of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery
Authors: Audrey DeUgarte, Kathryn Hudack, Erica Cena, Yun Zhang, Laura Kresty
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 67
Abstract
Chemotherapeutic resistance contributes to poor patient outcomes for ovarian as well as other cancers commonly treated with platinum and taxane-based antimicrotubule and alkylating agents. This has emphasized the need to research improved treatment options and enhance our mechanistic understanding of therapeutic targets and resistance. Previous research has focused on cell death pathways and specific mechanisms contributing to intrinsic or acquired resistance, including transporter dysregulation. Ongoing research in our lab has revealed that C-PAC (cranberry proanthocyanidins) acts synergistically to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy agents (carboplatin and paclitaxel) in esophageal adenocarcinoma through transport and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, leading to the current study evaluating the effect of C-PAC in ovarian cancer cell lines. The current study evaluates the anti-cancer properties of C-PAC in ovarian cancer cell lines, specifically in parental OV81 cells, platinum-resistant OV81-CP40 cells, and normal FT237 cells from the fallopian tube for control purposes. Research methods include calcein-AM viability assays for OV81, OV81-CP40, and FT237 cell lines. Both OV81 and OV81-CP40 will be treated with C-PAC alone and in combination with chemotherapy agents to assess synergistic effects using CompuSyn. In addition, we plan to perform mechanistic studies using western blot to identify specific proteins driving treatment-induced cell death. This study aims to determine whether C-PAC inhibits ovarian cancer cell death alone or in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy agents and by what mechanisms. Overall, developing new non-toxic agents that increase the therapeutic efficacy of standard-of-care treatments will fill a significant unmet need in ovarian cancer.
