Epithelial ovarian cancer commonly goes undetected, mainly because symptoms rarely present before the cancer has advanced to a more aggressive stage. Dr. Thedore Brown is a reproductive endocrine biologist who was intrigued by the complexity of this disease, the potential indirect role of reproductive factors, and the need to improve outcomes for patients.
Dr. Brown is a Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and Professor and Head of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility within the University of Toronto's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
He examines the role steroid hormones play in cancer risk and progression, with a focus on epithelial ovarian cancer. In order to develop effective treatments and better diagnostic tests, Dr. Brown is working to identify markers of early stage disease. In collaboration with scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital, Dr. Brown is using gene microarrays to identify the molecular pathways and genes (including BRCA1/2) associated with ovarian cancer predisposition and progression.
Dr. Brown is also focused on understanding the function of the fallopian tube and ovulation in the predisposition to ovarian cancer, as well as the role of inflammation. A better understanding of pro-inflammatory genes, specifically those active in the early (or 'luteal') phase of the menstrual cycle, can help identify women at increased risk of ovarian cancer. Dr. Brown is working with clinical colleagues at the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital to assess healthy women and those with the BRCA1 gene (a known risk factor for ovarian cancer) to determine the role of inflammation in the fallopian tube.
Through his investigations into a small protein called 'SPARC' and its known effects on the VEGF pathway (a cellular communication and signaling pathway linked to the development and progression of cancer), Dr. Brown and colleagues in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto, the Ontario Cancer Institute and the University of Guelph, are leading a study in mice to determine the therapeutic potential of SPARC for women with advanced ovarian cancer.
In addition to studying ovarian cancer, Dr. Brown collaborates with colleagues in Mount Sinai Hospital's Centre for Fertility and Reproductive Health as well as the Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre, to study cancer originating in other reproductive organs. He also works with these colleagues in the area of female infertility.
