News | Lipid-rich ascites weakens immune defenses: Irish team identifies new mechanism of immune failure in ovarian cancer
New research from Trinity College Dublin has systematically shown for the first time how lipid-rich ascites acts as an immune disruptor in advanced ovarian cancer. The finding deepens understanding of immune suppression in ovarian cancer and identifies a new potential target for immunotherapy.
About 70% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, often with substantial ascites. Ascites promotes tumor spread within the abdomen and significantly weakens immune defenses, but how it causes immune dysfunction has remained unclear.
In the Science Immunology study, teams from Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin analyzed ascites from ovarian cancer patients, focusing on effects on natural killer (NK) cells and T cells. They identified phospholipids as a central driver of impaired immune function.
First author Dr. Karen Slattery of the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute said: "These lipids disrupt NK-cell metabolism and suppress their ability to kill cancer cells. More importantly, blocking NK-cell uptake of these phospholipids with a specific receptor inhibitor restored antitumor function, providing an attractive target for future immunotherapy drugs."
Slattery said the work helps explain why ovarian cancer is so persistent. Although the immune system can recognize and remove tumor cells, this ability is switched off in many patients, partly because of the lipid-rich environment created by ascites.
Corresponding author Professor Lydia Lynch, formerly at Trinity and now at Princeton University, said: "This is an important breakthrough in ovarian cancer research. We have identified a new mechanism of immune failure and laid the groundwork for restoring patients' immune function. Targeting lipid-induced immune suppression may strengthen the body's own ability to fight cancer and improve clinical outcomes."
The study explains the long-observed immune suppression associated with ascites and opens new possibilities for ovarian-cancer immunotherapy. With further research, therapies targeting lipid metabolism may offer another option for difficult-to-treat patients.
News | Lipid-rich ascites weakens immune defenses: Irish team identifies new mechanism of immune failure in ovarian cancer
News | Lipid-rich ascites weakens immune defenses: Irish team identifies new mechanism of immune failure in ovarian cancer
New research from Trinity College Dublin has systematically shown for the first time how lipid-rich ascites acts as an immune disruptor in advanced ovarian cancer. The finding deepens understanding of immune suppression in ovarian cancer and identifies a new potential target for immunotherapy.
About 70% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, often with substantial ascites. Ascites promotes tumor spread within the abdomen and significantly weakens immune defenses, but how it causes immune dysfunction has remained unclear.
In the Science Immunology study, teams from Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin analyzed ascites from ovarian cancer patients, focusing on effects on natural killer (NK) cells and T cells. They identified phospholipids as a central driver of impaired immune function.
First author Dr. Karen Slattery of the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute said: "These lipids disrupt NK-cell metabolism and suppress their ability to kill cancer cells. More importantly, blocking NK-cell uptake of these phospholipids with a specific receptor inhibitor restored antitumor function, providing an attractive target for future immunotherapy drugs."
Slattery said the work helps explain why ovarian cancer is so persistent. Although the immune system can recognize and remove tumor cells, this ability is switched off in many patients, partly because of the lipid-rich environment created by ascites.
Corresponding author Professor Lydia Lynch, formerly at Trinity and now at Princeton University, said: "This is an important breakthrough in ovarian cancer research. We have identified a new mechanism of immune failure and laid the groundwork for restoring patients' immune function. Targeting lipid-induced immune suppression may strengthen the body's own ability to fight cancer and improve clinical outcomes."
The study explains the long-observed immune suppression associated with ascites and opens new possibilities for ovarian-cancer immunotherapy. With further research, therapies targeting lipid metabolism may offer another option for difficult-to-treat patients.
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