The first evidence of progesterone?s metabolite (4-pregnene) effects in human ovarian cancer cell lines

PELEGRINA, LAURA T; SANHUEZA, MARÍA DE LOS ÁNGELES; CÁCERES, ANTONELLA ROSARIO RAMONA; IBAÑEZ CANNAVÓ, JULIETA; CARDONE, DANIELA ALEJANDRA; LACONI, MYRIAM RAQUEL

Simposio; INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH; 2021

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women and is the second mostcommon type of gynecologic cancer diagnosed during pregnancy. It is known that ovarian cancer is detectedin advanced stages of the disease. Although the incidence of ovarian cancer in pregnancy is low and thematernal-fetal prognosis is generally favorable for the early stages of the tumor, management depends onthe stage of the disease, the length of gestation, and the patient´s wishes. Termination of pregnancy in theearly stages is usually the main decision of patients who prioritize treatment or the desire to preservereproductive capacity. Among the most important hormones for the maintenance of pregnancy,progesterone and its metabolites present a sustained increase until the time of delivery. Currently, the roleof progesterone in ovarian carcinogenesis is controversial. This hormone can be metabolized into the 4-pregnenes, 3α-di-hydroprogesterone and 20α-dihydroprogesterone derivatives. These steroids are activeand have anti-tumor effects in breast cancer. Here, we evaluated the effect of 4-pregenenes derivates on cellproliferation (MTT), and tumor migration (wound assay) of two human ovarian cancer lines, IGROV-1 andSKOV-3. In both lines, 3α-di-hydroprogesterone and 20α-dihydro-progesterone significantly reducedproliferation of the ovarian cancer cell lines. Migration, a critical event in metastasis formation, wassignificantly stimulated by 20α-dihydro-progesterone on IGROV-1. This effect was concentration-dependentwith a maximum of 298% for 10-11M (p