Recent Study Shows Possibility Of A Genetic Link And Casual Relationship Between Ovarian Cancer And Endometriosis
A Globocan 2018 fact sheet suggested that ovarian cancer is the third most common cancer in Indian women and the eighth-most common cancer in women around the world. In simple terms, the chances of women getting diagnosed with ovarian cancer are pretty high. Unfortunately, the treatment for it doesn’t always give the best results, which is why studies are being conducted to provide patients with the best course of treatment. Speaking of which, recently a group of scientists in a study revealed that they might have just found a genetic link and an informal relationship between ovarian cancer and endometriosis.
Scientists that recently conducted research showed that the absolute risk of an endometriosis or endo patient developing ovarian cancer is at a low, but there are genetic markers in both of them that help researchers understand both the conditions and treat them better in the future.
Sally Mortlock, a molecular bioscientist from the University of Queensland, Australia, explained the findings, ”We don’t want women with endometriosis to worry, but rather we want them to be aware and know that the purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of both of these diseases by understanding the genetic link between them.”
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So what is endometriosis?
Endometriosis, also known as endo, is a common condition where the cells similar to the lining of the uterus start to grow elsewhere in the body. This condition often causes a lot of pain or even infertility. However, just like most conditions that are primarily women-centric, even this condition has been ignored by the field of medicines.
Now, recent research and previous epidemiological studies show that there is a possible genetic link between endometriosis and ovarian cancer. In fact, epidemiological studies also show that those who are already endo patients are more likely to develop ovarian cancer in the future.
What did the study about ovarian cancer find?
Well, scientists in Australia gathered a tonne of data from several genome-wide association studies to study the relationship between the two conditions and found that there are 19 genetic locations in the female DNA that appear to predispose them to endometriosis while also predisposing them to epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).
Sally Mortlock, a molecular bioscientist, said, “Overall, studies have estimated that 1 in 76 women are at risk of developing ovarian cancer in their lifetime, and having endometriosis increases this slightly to 1 in 55” What makes this study different from other studies is the fact that the authors of it could easily associate the genetic components of endo to with some types of ovarian cancer.
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What is the final takeaway from the study?
In simple terms, the study showed that there are genes in the female DNA that are responsible for endometriosis that was found to be driving the development of tissue that can increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer. However, they found no evidence of the other way around.
The study highlights genetic regions that are shared by endo and EOC that will help other researchers to figure out the mechanisms of this casual relationship the two conditions share and what biological pathways might contribute to the onset of either or both of the conditions.
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