# Explore piRNAs as a novel group of biomarkers for ovarian cancer early detection

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS · 2024 · $411,876

## Abstract

Abstract
Ovarian cancer remains the most lethal gynecological malignancy due to the lack of highly sensitive and specific
screening tools for detection of early-stage disease. The goal of the proposed study is to explore the viability of
a novel Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA)-based detection tool for the early detection of ovarian cancer. PiRNAs are
an abundant class of small (26-32 nt) noncoding RNAs with over 30,000 known human members and play a
pivotal role in the maintenance of genomic stability via epigenetic silencing of transposable elements (TE).
Recent evidence from our group and others has suggested that piRNAs can also induce DNA methylation at
non-TE protein coding genes, including cancer-related genes in somatic cells. Our ongoing analyses have
observed marked differences in expression of several piRNAs between ovarian cancer tissues and normal
ovarian tissues. As a novel group of small noncoding RNAs, no published work has examined the potential use
of piRNAs for the early detection of ovarian cancer. The proposed study will test the hypothesis that piRNAs can
serve as a novel group of blood-based biomarkers for the early detection of ovarian cancer. We will perform
piRNA sequencing (piSeq) analysis to detect over-expressed piRNA candidates in 1) early stage (I-II) ovarian
tumor tissues compared to fallopian tube tissues from control subjects (Aim 1) and 2) in serum samples from
early stage (I-II) ovarian cancer patients compared to matched normal subjects (Aim 2). This exploratory study
will provide proof of concept for future large population-based studies to further investigate the translational role
of piRNA in ovarian cancer, which would accelerate our understanding of the role of piRNAs in ovarian
tumorigenesis and provide new avenues of research to facilitate the development of innovative diagnostic
biomarkers for ovarian cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10785263
- **Project number:** 1R21CA277412-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS
- **Principal Investigator:** YONG ZHU
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $411,876
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10785263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10785263, Explore piRNAs as a novel group of biomarkers for ovarian cancer early detection (1R21CA277412-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10785263. Licensed CC0.

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