News Releases & Research Results The first discovery of a contribution of IL-34 to ovarian cancer malignancy, and its potential to be a target of a new treatment modality

Results of collaborative research conducted by Professor Ken-ichiro Seino of the Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, Professor Hidemichi Watari of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Professor Nao Suzuki of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Marianna University of Medicine, Professor Yataro Daigo of the Department of Medical Oncology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Director Yohei Miyagi of Kanagawa Cancer Center, and others.

• Interleukin-34 (IL-34)* in lesions of ovary cancer patients has been demonstrated for the first time to contribute to cancer malignancy.
  * A generic term for proteins secreted from white blood cells. More than 30 types have been discovered. IL-34 was the thirty-fourth to be identified.
• IL-34 was found to be highly expressed in cancer lesions that recurred after surgery and/or anti-cancer drugs.
• Expression of IL-34 in ovarian cancer cells was demonstrated to contribute to the tumor environment that inhibits tumor immunity.
• These study results suggest a relationship between ovarian cancer progression and IL-34, which could be a target for development of new ovarian cancer treatments.

This project was conducted with the support of Practical Research for Innovative Cancer Control by AMED.

The results of the study were published on-line in International Immunology on December 24.

Endo H., et al. Interleukin-34 expression in ovarian cancer: A possible correlation with disease progression International Immunology
DOI：10.1093/intimm/dxz074