SCIENTISTS UNCOVER NEW CLUE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST OVARIAN CANCER

Ovarian cancer is one of those diseases that hides in plain sight. It whispers instead of shouting.

Symptoms may include bloating, gastrointestinal issues, or simply feeling unwell. And by the time it’s found, it has often already spread.

That’s why survival rates remain devastatingly low, and why any new advance is treated like gold.

Now, researchers in Adelaide may have found something that actually changes the game.

The missing signal doctors have been looking for

A team from the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide has identified a cell surface receptor called F2R, which appears to play a key role in the growth and spread of ovarian cancer.

Their study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, suggests F2R could be both a diagnostic marker and a treatment target.

Lead researcher Dr Hugo Albrecht says the problem right now is that doctors don’t have reliable early-warning tools.

“This discovery represents a significant step forward,” he says.

“Current biomarkers lack sensitivity and accuracy, leaving clinicians with few tools for early detection or to predict treatment outcomes reliably.

“However, we believe that F2R could be a powerful candidate for both improving diagnosis and developing new personalised treatments that could target aggressive or drug-resistant cancers.”

Why this matters so much

Ovarian cancer kills more than 200,000 women worldwide each year. About 70 per cent of cases are only detected when the cancer has already spread.

And while CA-125 is sometimes used in testing, it’s not a reliable indicator. It can spike for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with cancer.

To make things worse, the early symptoms are super vague. Feeling bloated. Needing to pee more. Feeling full too quickly. Stuff most women would shrug off or mention to a GP only after months of feeling “just not right”.

What the researchers found

The Adelaide team analysed tumour samples and genomic data. They noticed that women with high levels of F2R had shorter survival outcomes.

When they reduced F2R in lab cancer cells, the cells became less able to move, invade or cluster together. Basically, they behaved less like cancer.

Even more interesting: when F2R was suppressed, cancer cells became more sensitive to carboplatin, one of the most common ovarian cancer chemotherapy drugs.

Co-author Dr Carmela Ricciardelli says this could reshape how patients are treated.

“By testing F2R, we could not only improve how we identify patients at risk of early recurrence or chemotherapy resistance but also design therapies that work more effectively alongside standard chemotherapy,” Dr Ricciardelli says.

Still early days, but promising ones

This isn’t ready for clinics yet. The researchers are clear about that. More testing and larger clinical studies are needed. But it opens a door where previously there was just a brick wall.

“Ovarian cancer has long been a silent killer because we lack the tools for early and accurate detection,” Dr Albrecht says.

“Our discovery of F2R’s role opens new avenues for diagnostic tests and personalised treatments that could make a real difference to survival rates.”

For now, the ovarian cancer message remains the same

If something feels wrong, don’t talk yourself out of getting it checked. Women’s health symptoms get dismissed enough by everyone else—no need to join the chorus.

Your body knows. And it’s allowed to be loud.