Genetic and pharmacologic dependency upon anti-apoptotic proteins BCL-XL and MCL1 in rare subtypes of ovarian cancer

Rare subtypes of ovarian cancer (carcinosarcoma, clear cell, endometrioid, mucinous, low-grade serous, small cell) are less responsive to platinum/taxane chemotherapy compared to high-grade serous ovarian cancer, and rare subtypes often have poor outcomes in advanced and recurrent disease. We showed that targeting anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins sensitized high-grade serous ovarian cancers to chemotherapy or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. We hypothesized that targeting anti-apoptotic proteins may be effective against rare subtypes of ovarian cancer.