Symposium 2023 - OvaCure

Science Symposium

Women’s Health:
The use of Organoids in Future OvarianCancer Research

On 3 October 2023, OvaCure held our Science Symposium, and just like in 2021, it was held at the Novo Nordisk Foundation in Hellerup.

With women’s health and organoids on the agenda, the exciting afternoon gave the participants a sharp insight into why it is so important to prioritize ovarian cancer, as well as how organoid cultures can become an imperative tool for research in the field.

Many female diseases are undermined with phrases such as “that’s just a normal part of a woman’s life”, just as many female diseases are taboo and not seen as research fields worthy of support. At the same time, studies on diseases that can affect both men and women are most often based on men, and this has major consequences for the world’s women. Fortunately, the inequality is being addressed and more people are now focusing on the gender disparity. And focus and investments are absolutely crucial if women’s health is to be prioritized to the same degree as men’s health.

A good example is the great focus on breast cancer, which has led to correspondingly large investments, which in the end has made a huge difference to the survival rate. It is the same path that ovarian cancer also has to go through.

Organoid cultures can be of great help in this regard. Organoids are a revolutionary technology that makes it possible to expand primary tumor tissue into DNA-stable cultures identical to the original tumor tissue, but now up to 1000 times larger in volume. This means that more researchers can gain access to tissue and thus more research can be initiated. The problem is that only very few organoid cultures based on ovarian cancer tumors exist in the world today. In collaboration with Professor Krister Wennerberg, OvaCure is in the process of changing that, however.

Finally, international collaborations are indispensable in the fight against ovarian cancer. Through clinical studies, we learn more about the disease, and the more countries that can cooperate and share results and tissues, the closer we come to fully understanding the serious disease.

Recognized and very skilled speakers

In 2023, the symposium’s first speaker was Professor Henriette Svarre Nielsen from Hvidovre Hospital. Professor Svarre Nielsen is a recognized researcher in reproduction and women’s health. She shared her in-depth knowledge of women’s health and focused on the serious consequences that deprioritising it has for society.

Then Professor Krister Wennerberg from the University of Copenhagen, BRIC, took us into the world of organoids and gave us an insight into the process of establishing and storing these pioneering cultures. He further emphasized the complexity of ovarian cancer, which is possibly a contributing factor to the fact that there is not as much research into that type of cancer as into other less lethal types of cancer.

In the end, Chief Oncologist Mansoor Raza Mirza from Rigshospitalet reviewed several different clinical projects within ovarian cancer, and he shared his thoughts on the importance of collaborating internationally on this. As medical director of NSGO-CTU (Nordic Society of Gynaecological Oncology – Clinical Trial Unit) and prominent member of several European associations, Chief Oncologist Mansoor Raza Mirza experiences first hand what a strong unity means. NSGO-CTU’s primary purpose is to drive and support clinical research in gynecological cancer, and as they themselves write, the best way to achieve this mission is “through collaboration, innovation and education”.

Many different people showed up for the symposium

At the symposium in 2023, both patients, relatives, gynaecologists, specialists and researchers were represented. This meant that there was a lively dialogue after the presentations, where people could meet each other. And this unique opportunity is definitely one of the main reasons why OvaCure holds these events. In other words, it is incredibly nice for the patients and their relatives to meet like-minded people, but there is also a lot of value in being able to speak directly to the skilled researchers in the field and hear more about the latest research.

Is the symposium for me?

The OvaCure Science Symposium is for anyone with an interest in ovarian cancer. The primary participants are researchers, doctors, patients, and relatives, but everyone is welcome.

The symposium is typically held in September or October in the Copenhagen area. As a member of OvaCure, you are among the first to receive an invitation, but we also write about our events on our SoMe channels.

Ovarian cancer is an overlooked disease, and it is important to increase awareness so that the disease can gain more attention.