Webinar
Ascites: A potential advantageous material for genetic insights into the tumor
Can ascites be used for genetic insights into the tumor profile when surgery and thus tissue sampling are not possible?
We invite you to a webinar with a focus on the potential to use ascites as an assisting material for molecular analyses, which could potentially contribute to targeted treatment for patients who are inoperable at the time of diagnosis.
When?
23 May 2024
15:30 - 16:30
Where?
Online
Link will be provided by mail
Registration
Who?
Anyone interested from the DCCC ctDNA Research Center (this webinar is not for our international partners and the industry).
Seminar leader?
Lau Kræsing Vestergaard
Background
Lau Kræsing Vestergaard and the team of the molecular unit has been working on a project at Herlev Hospital where they have compared mutation findings in corresponding ascites and tumor samples. Mutational findings in ascites can be particularly beneficial for patients who cannot undergo surgery or have received neo-adjuvant treatment.
The study shows that ascites collected from women before chemotherapeutic treatment for ovarian cancer potentially can serve as an advantageous surrogate for gaining genetic insight into the tumor's molecular profile, as well as the possibility for metastases in the abdominal region.
Ovarian cancer affects approximately 550 women annually in Denmark and remains a challenging disease to treat, as it is in 75% of the cases diagnosed at a late stage (FIGO stage III/IV). At this point, the tumor has spread beyond the pelvis and may confer resistance to chemotherapy.
Surgery is a strong prognostic factor, and information about molecular changes to understand the underlying genetics of the tumor could potentially contribute to targeted treatment and thus personalized medicine. However, around 30% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are not candidates for surgery. These women may be offered neo-adjuvant standard chemotherapy, possibly followed up by interval surgery. Obtaining genetic information from tissue after chemotherapy is challenging due to the poor condition of the tissue.
The results of the study may lead to the implementation of ascites as an assisting material for molecular analyses, which could potentially contribute to targeted treatment for patients who are inoperable at the time of diagnosis.
The webinar
In this webinar, we focus on the extraction of ctDNA from ascites, and in the same context, we will make the SOP for ctDNA extraction from ascites available to other environments in the DCCC ctDNA Research Center.
Lau Kræsing Vestergaard will discuss the execution of the study and present the results.
We look forward to welcoming you to the webinar!
ADDRESS FOR THE SECRETARIAT
Science Center Skejby, MOMA
Brendstrupgårdsvej 21, build. A
8200 Aarhus N
CONTACT
ctDNA@clin.au.dk
+45 78 45 53 39