Researchers have discovered a gene that is linked to an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. This discovery could lead to lab tests that are easily able to identify which women have this particular faulty gene, and which do not have it. The results could lead to brand new treatments for ovarian cancer, and to earlier treatment of the disease.
A study was done by researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, which is based in the UK. The researchers compared the DNA of two different groups of women. One group consisted of women who came from over 900 families that had a history of breast and ovarian cancer. The other group consisted of almost of 1,000 women who came from families that had no history of those two types of cancer.
There is a gene called RAD51D. The researchers discovered that there was a correlation between having a faulty form of that particular gene, and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. The women who had a faulty RAD51D gene had a one in eleven chance of developing ovarian cancer. Women who didn’t have the faulty gene only had a one in seventy chance of developing this form of cancer.
Right now, there are few treatment options for women who have a family medical history that includes ovarian cancer. If a women who has this gene has already had the amount of children she planned on having, doctors might suggest that she undergo an oophoretomy. This would mean that the woman would have surgery to remove both of her ovaries, as a preventative measure against developing ovarian cancer.
It is hoped that the new knowledge about the connection between the RAD51D gene could potentially lead to newer, better, treatment options. Perhaps women could be screened to see if they happen to have this particular gene before a surgery is scheduled.
Those that do could, someday, be offered a form of drug treatment that is currently in clinical trials. There is a type of drug called PARP inhibitors. These drugs could be a new form of cancer treatment, because they seem to repair damaged DNA. Research so far indicates that the RAD51D gene is “highly sensitive” to the PARP inhibitor drugs. This sensitivity has yet to be tested out in humans, at this time.
One thing to keep in mind is that there are other factors, in addition to having a faulty version of the RAD51D gene, that can cause ovarian cancer. Women who used estrogen therapy for more than five years have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. Women over age 55 have a higher risk, too. Every year, more than 15,000 women die from ovarian cancer. Perhaps the discovery made by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK can help make that number much lower.
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