Discovery of gene mutations may help fight ovarian cancer

USA Today

Scientists have found gene mutations that may cause an estimated 10% of ovarian cancers, a discovery that could help them develop new treatments and better understand which women are at high risk for the disease.

The mutations are found in a "tumor suppressor" gene called ARID1A, which normally helps block cancer growth, says David Huntsman of Canada's University of British Columbia. He's co-author of a study published online Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, one of two new studies with similar findings.

Huntsman found the mutations only in certain types of ovarian cancer. The mutations were present in nearly half of a type of tumor called ovarian clear-cell carcinoma, as well as in 30% of another type, which are called endometrioid carcinomas, the study says... Read More