Landmark Ovarian Cancer Discovery as Scientists Unveil High Risk Gene
7 August 2011 - In the most significant ovarian cancer gene discovery for more than a decade, a team of scientists led by the ICR’s Professor Nazneen Rahman has found that women who carry a faulty copy of a gene called RAD51D have almost a one in 11 chance of developing ovarian cancer. The RAD51D gene is important for repairing damaged DNA.
The team examined DNA from women from 911 families with ovarian and breast cancer and compared differences in DNA with a control group of 1060 people from the general population. They discovered eight gene faults in the RAD51D gene in women with cancer, compared with one in the control group. The researchers estimate that RAD51D gene faults are present in almost one per cent of women with ovarian cancer - around 50 UK women each year.
The team also showed that cells with faulty RAD51D can be selectively destroyed by a class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors. These drugs are already showing great promise in clinical trials for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancers with faults in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are also important for repairing damaged DNA.
