AUTHOR=Kurelac Ivana , Sollazzo Manuela , De Luise Monica , Nanetti Francesca , Lanteri Laura , D’Angelo Luigi , Cavina Beatrice , Corrà Simona , Miglietta Stefano , Milioni Sara , Luppi Elena , Iommarini Luisa , Di Costanzo Stella , Ricciardi Anna Maria , Coluccelli Sara , Maloberti Thais , Grillini Marco , Coadă Camelia Alexandra , Perrone Anna Myriam , De Iaco Pierandrea , de Biase Dario , Ragazzi Moira , Gasparre Giuseppe , Porcelli Anna Maria 

TITLE=Immunomagnetic enrichment coupled to PAX8/TP53 molecular pathology approach increases sensitivity in the detection of ovarian cancer cells in ascites

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-biosciences/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2025.1537407

DOI=10.3389/fmolb.2025.1537407

ISSN=2296-889X

ABSTRACT=High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) is one of the deadliest malignancies in female population and the cause of 70% of all ovarian cancer-related deaths. Among its hallmarks, the fluid accumulation in the peritoneal cavity, or ascites, is a peculiar pathological sign during late stages and in recurrent patients. Besides cancer cells, ascitic fluids contain a heterogeneous cellular composition, representing a precious source to dissect molecular mechanisms underlying invasion and metastatization or find new biomarkers to predict therapy response. However, malignant cells are often a minority population in ascites making the detection and analysis of cancer cells a challenge. Here we propose a combinatorial approach for the detection of malignant cells in OC ascites based on TP53 deep sequencing and PAX8 cytological staining. In addition, we improve the procedure by implementing a cancer cell enrichment step, increasing the sensitivity in the detection of neoplastic fraction and potentiating downstream research and diagnostics applications.