Pospíchalová lab

Harnessing the potential of ascites to improve outcomes for ovarian cancer patients through innovative research.

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Extracellular vesicles in ovarian cancer and the potential of malignant ascites for ovarian cancer research

Ovarian cancer (OC) ranks among the deadliest cancers in women. Lack of symptoms, rapid metastases and common chemoresistance contribute to unfortunate fate of majority of OC patients, especially those having high-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary, fallopian tube and peritoneum (HGSC), the most common and most aggressive type of OC. Many HGSC patients have excess fluid in the peritoneum called ascites. Ascites is basically a tumor microenvironment (TME) containing various cells, proteins and extracellular vesicles (EVs).

EVs play an important role in cancerogenesis and hold great promise as disease biomarkers, yet their small size and polydispersity  bring various challenges to their isolation and characterization, including method-dependent enrichment of different EV subtypes as well as contaminants.

Our research projects focus on method development in the EV field, comparison of different isolation methods and especially on proteomic analyses of ascitic EVs and how these can help in unraveling the underlying molecular principles of disease progression and how can ascites serve as a new source of diagnostic/screening/prognostic EV-based biomarkers of HGSC and clinically relevant disease models, such as organoids.

Our Team

Research

Ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is a deadly gynecologic cancer, often diagnosed late due to a lack of early symptoms and effective screening. High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), its most aggressive form, poses challenges like rapid spread and chemoresistance. Research is vital to develop early detection, improve treatments, and ultimately save lives.

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small particles released by cells that carry proteins, lipids, and genetic material. In cancer, EVs play a key role in communication between tumor cells and their environment, promoting growth and spread. Their unique cargo makes them promising as biomarkers for diagnosing and predicting cancer progression, and they may also offer new therapeutic targets for treatment.

Selected Publications


Total number of publications: 19


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