# Iron, Ferroptosis and Ovarian Cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCH OF MED/DNT · 2021 · $15,470

## Abstract

Summary
Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other gynecologic cancer in the US. The dismal prognosis of
patients with advanced disease remains little changed in the past 30 years. New approaches are needed.
In my R01 grant, entitled “Iron, Ferroptosis and Ovarian Cancer” we explore the role of iron in ferroptosis, an
iron-mediated form of cell death which may represent a new way to target ovarian cancer. Although iron is
central to ferroptosis, little is known about how iron actually confers this susceptibility. In this grant, we test the
hypothesis that iron plays critical, novel, and previously undescribed roles in ferroptosis, and that new targets
in the ferroptosis pathway that we recently discovered might lead to successful interventions in ovarian cancer.
We approach this problem with two broad objectives: 1) to better understand the role of iron in ferroptosis; 2)
to identify specific targets that will enhance the activity of ferroptosis inducers by fostering pro-ferroptotic
pathways both in ovarian cancers themselves and in the ovarian cancer microenvironment.
Our Specific Aims are directed at these goals. These Specific Aims and the budget to achieve these Aims
were approved by the Study Section and the grant was given a priority score in the 3rd percentile. However,
for administrative reasons, the budget was subsequently reduced over 50%, making it exceedingly difficult to
carry out the experiments described in the proposal. In particular, experiments described in Aim 2 and 3C are
at risk of not being completed due to limited funding. In Aim 2, we use state-of-the-art high-lateral resolution
secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) imaging and MALDI-MSI to probe the sites of origin of the
ferroptotic death signal, co-localizing iron with the oxidized lipids that typify ferroptosis. In Aim 3, we assess
how cells in the ovarian tumor microenvironment modify the response of ovarian cancers to drugs that induce
ferroptosis by applying these same imaging techniques to tumors. Results from these experiments are critical
to the major objective of this research: a precise understanding of the role of iron in ovarian cancers treated
with ferroptosis inducers. This supplement will allow us to carry out these experiments as originally proposed.
We believe this work may ultimately contribute to improved treatment options for ovarian cancer patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10371385
- **Project number:** 3R01CA188025-06A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCH OF MED/DNT
- **Principal Investigator:** Suzy V Torti
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $15,470
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10371385

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10371385, Iron, Ferroptosis and Ovarian Cancer (3R01CA188025-06A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10371385. Licensed CC0.

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