Defective gene could be linked to ovarian cancer

Scientists from Cancer Research UK have identified a gene within mice that may increase the likelihood of ovarian cancer if it is faulty. Equally if the gene is found to be functioning correctly, it could help protect from the development of ovarian cancer. The findings have been published in the journal 'Nature'.

The Helq gene is responsible for repairing damage to DNA, which can occur when it is replicated during the multiplying of a body's cells. If the gene is not present in a woman, or does not function correctly, DNA errors could keep occurring as cells multiply. This increases the likelihood of ovarian cancer developing.

The scientists found that mice born without any Helq genes had a doubly high chance of developing the cancer when compared to those that were born with both the genes. Mice that only had one of the Helq genes still had a higher chance of developing ovarian cancer.

It is not yet known if the lack of, or impaired function of the same gene within humans would have the same effect upon a woman's likelihood of developing ovarian cancer. Further research is needed to ascertain if the Helq gene can affect the possibility of human ovarian tumours forming.   

Senior author of the study from Cancer Research UK's London research Institute, Doctor simon Boulton, said: “Our findings show that if there are problems with the Helq gene in mice it increases the chance of them developing ovarian and other tumours. This is an exciting finding because this might also be true for women with errors in Helq, and the next step will be to see if this is the case.

“If it plays a similar role in humans, this may open up the possibility that, in the future, women could be screened for errors in the Helq gene that might increase their risk of ovarian cancer.”

Ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose early on and as such is hard to successfully treat once it has been diagnosed. Identifying women that have high chances of developing tumours could help to improve screening techniques and catch the disease early.