Dr. Dottino on Molecular Detection of Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Peter R. Dottino, MD, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science, Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses molecular techniques used to determine ovarian cancer following treatment with chemotherapy.

Researchers out of Mount Sinai out of their 10-year biobank to explore tumors to determine what the genetic make-up of the primary tumor, the recurrent tumor, and whether they can predict and find the same mutations in the primary tumor as in "second-look" washings, Dottino says. Using a 56-gene panel with next-generation sequencing, it was discovered that 5 patients had positive second-looks, with mutations in all washes. Three out of 5 patients who were classed as negative second-looks were later determined to still carry deleterious p53 mutations. These patients went on to have recurrent disease.

This confirms that there is a heterogeneity to ovarian cancer, Dottino explains.