According to a new study by U.S. researchers, high levels of two particular enzymes in ovarian cancer tissue may lead to a five times longer survival periods than for patients with lower levels of the enzymes.

The study shows that the two enzymes, dubbed Dicer and Drosha, are essential to microRNA interference used by cells to shut down certain genes, and women with high levels of both had an average ovarian cancer survival period of 11 years, as opposed to 2.6 years in those with low levels of both in general, and protein Dicer in particular.

The research was conducted by Dr. Anil K. Sood professor in gynecologic oncology and cancer biology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and published in the December 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings of Dr. Sood’s team were based on analysis of tumor tissue from a number of 111 patients, measuring mRNA levels of Dicer and Drosha in each, and then correlating the results with survival information.

Some 60% of the cancer cells had low levels of the Dicer gene, 50% had low Drosha levels, and 39% low levels of both. Sood found that lower levels of either or both translated into lower survival. The results were correlated with an additional group of 132 patients with ovarian cancer.

The two proteins shape and alter small bits of genetic material, thereby controlling cell growth, and determining if cells live or die, a process known as RNAi. If the system is damaged, it can lead to disease, and in fact it is abnormal in most cases of cancer seen by doctors, so much so that it was believed that mRNA was conducive to cancer until recently.

With finds such as Dr. Sood’s study proving otherwise, avenues for treatment using synthetic molecules are being researched, but so far there is no immediate application for the treatment of women with ovarian cancer. The findings are however helping doctors determine if ovarian cancer patients may need more aggressive treatment.