Kara Michels

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Assistant Professor

PLCO (Learn more about this study)

2022-0037

Feb 1, 2023

Infection and immunity in uterine corpus and ovarian cancers

Although risk factors for uterine corpus and ovarian cancers have been identified, many of these factors are common (e.g., obesity)–they can't be used to identify the women at greatest risk for these diseases, nor can they be intervened on (e.g., age). These risk factors are also not strongly associated with the most aggressive histotypes of uterine corpus and ovarian cancers. Our study will explore the potential role of infections in the etiology of these cancers. Such infections are treatable, and knowledge about prior infections could someday be used as a screening tool for cancer risk. We will first replicate associations between these cancers and a set of novel circulating biomarkers that provide information on prior infectious exposures. Secondly, we will use tumor tissue samples to examine several relevant immunohistochemistry markers and also make comparisons by histotype. This research will help us understand if and potentially how, certain infections increase risk for subtypes of uterine corpus and ovarian cancers.

1. To replicate previously identified associations between seropositivity to select microbial antigens and risks for uterine and ovarian cancers, by histotype.

2. To quantify and describe patterns of immune cell infiltration across uterine and ovarian cancers, by histotype.