Hopkins researchers find genes tied to ovarian cancer
Johns Hopkins scientists have found two genes whose mutations appear to be linked to one of the deadliest forms of ovarian cancer.
The research was published online in the Sept. 8, issue of Science Express.
The researchers, from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, found an average of 20 mutated genes in each ovarian clear cell cancer studied. Clear cell cancer is generally resistant to standard therapy.
Two of the genes were more commonly mutated. ARID1A is a gene that suppresses tumors and was found in 57 percent of the tumors studied. PPP2R1A helps turn normal cells into tumor cells and was found in 7.1 percent of the tumors studied.
The scientists looked at 18,000 genes for the study in ovarian clear cell tumors from eight patients. The patients came from Johns Hopkins and institutions in Taiwan and Japan. Researchers found 268 mutations in 253 genes from the eight tumors. There were an average of 20 mutations per tumor.
Ovarian clear cell cancer accounts for about 10 percent of cancers that start in the cells on the surface of the ovaries. It mainly affects women ages 40 to 80 and is resistant to chemotherapy.
