Genetic evidence supports endometriosis as ovarian cancer precursor

Genetic evidence supports endometriosis as ovarian cancer precursor
August 4, 2006

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The results of a study provide “convincing” molecular genetic evidence that endometriosis is a precursor to ovarian cancer, UK and US collaborators report in the August 1st issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

Despite consistent histological and epidemiological evidence linking these two diseases, it is still unclear whether endometriosis is a precursor to endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC) or whether the there is an indirect link because similar factors predispose to both diseases, Dr. Amanda H. Prowse from the University of Oxford, and colleagues note in their report.

They analyzed 10 EAOCs (4 endometroid and 6 clear cell) with coexisting endometriosis for common molecular genetic changes in the tumor and corresponding endometriosis samples.

The team detected 63 loss of heterozygosity (LOH) events in the carcinoma samples; 22 of these were also found in the corresponding endometriosis samples.

“In each case, the same allele was lost in the endometriosis and cancer samples,” they report.

Moreover, statistical analyses suggest that it is “very unlikely that these common genetic alterations have occurred as independent events,” the investigators report, “and therefore we have provided evidence that endometriosis can be a clonal precursor to EAOCs.”

Dr. Prowse and colleagues say additional studies are needed to determine how molecular markers of progression can be used to identify women with endometriosis who have an increased risk of EAOC.

See the full research article here or grab the PDF here.