Restoration of fertility by
autologous transplantation of ovarian cortex tissue in former
cancer patients may lead to the reintroduction of
malignancy via the graft. Pharmacological ex vivo purging of ovarian cortex fragments prior to
autotransplantation may reduce the risk of reseeding the
cancer. In this study we have investigated the capacity of
Everolimus (EVE), an inhibitor of the
mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (
mTORC1) signaling pathway, to eradicate
Ewing's sarcoma (ES) from ovarian tissue by a short-term ex vivo treatment. Exposure of experimentally induced ES
tumor foci in ovarian tissue to EVE for 24 h completely eliminated the malignant cells without detrimental effects on follicle morphology, survival or early folliculogenesis. This indicates that effective purging of ovarian cortex tissue from contaminating ES
tumor foci is possible by short-term exposure to EVE.