Abstract 2897: The metastatic potential of high-grade serous ovarian cancer cells along disease progression

Abstract

Abstract Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) represents 90% of all ovarian tumors and is considered to be the deadliest gynecological disease. High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most aggressive form of EOC and represents 70% of all deaths from the disease. Due to a lack of early symptoms and valid screening methods, HGSOC is often diagnosed at late stages, when metastasis has already occurred. HGSOC disseminates from the primary tumor as single cells or clusters that typically adheres to the peritoneal organs and wall. The purpose of this study was to characterize the migratory, invasive, and adhesive abilities of HGSOC cells representing different stages of disease evolution. Both wound healing (WH) and Boyden chamber (BC) assays were performed to study the migratory capacity of five HGSOC cell lines; PEO1, PEO4 and PEO6, from a first patient, and PEO14 and PEO23, from a second patient. The cell lines were generated along different stages of the disease (e.g. at presentation, recurrence, and before death), thus representing disease evolution. To study the invasive capacity of each cell line, a layer of extracellular matrix was added to the BC assays. Adhesion assays were performed on fibronectin coated plates. It was found that the migratory and invasive capacities of the HGSOC cell lines decreased along disease evolution in both cellular series. PEO1 and PEO14, two chemo-sensitive cell lines, were found to have the highest migratory and invasive capacities, while their chemoresistant counterparts, PEO4, PEO6 and PEO23, showed a decrease in migration and invasion. Moreover, a distinct migration pattern was found to be conserved in both WH and BC assays. Cell lines representing an early stage disease had a tendency to migrate as individual cells, while cells representing a late stage disease were observed migrating in clusters. Adhesion rates were found to be similar between all cells lines. The results suggest that HGSOC disease progression seems to be associated with reduced migratory and invasive capacities, contradicting the idea that advanced stage EOC cancers have higher metastatic potential. Citation Format: Sabrina J. Ritch, Alicia A. Goyeneche, Abu S. Noman, Carlos M. Telleria. The metastatic potential of high-grade serous ovarian cancer cells along disease progression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2897.