Rancho Santa Fe couple fund promising ovarian cancer study

Ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat, making it an especially deadly disease. Researchers at UCSD School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have now identified six mRNA isoforms — bits of genetic material — produced by ovarian cancer cells but not normal cells, opening up the possibility that they could be used to diagnose early-stage ovarian cancer.

What’s more, several of the mRNA isoforms could be targeted with new therapeutics.

The study will be published the week of May 25 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Iris and Matthew Strauss, Rancho Santa Fe-based philanthropists who helped fund the study, are also excited by the promise this finding holds.

“We created the Iris and Matthew Strauss Center for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer in memory of our daughter, Stefanie Dawn Strauss,” said Iris Lynne Strauss. “To further honor our daughter, we provided support for this study in an effort to help other women obtain early detection from this dreadful and deadly disease.”

This research was also funded in part by the National Cancer Institute and Colleen’s Dream Foundation.