An antibody that makes ovarian cancer cells more vulnerable to the body's immune system has been identified by researchers at the University of Vienna, Austria.
They found that the AD5-10 antibody lowered tumor cells' resistance to a protein called TRAIL, which triggers cancer cells to kill themselves, Agence France Presse reported.
"We were able to show in both cell cultures and animal models that TRAIL resistant ovarian cancer tumor cells become more sensitive to TRAIL again if TRAIL and AD5-10 are both present at the same time," said study leader Michael Krainer.
He and his colleagues also found that AD5-10 boosts the effectiveness of several chemotherapy drugs, AFP reported.
The findings, published Monday, may lead to new treatments for ovarian cancer, a leading cause of cancer death among women.