PARIS, Mar. 19 (Benin News) –
Endometriosis is a chronic debilitating disease that affects the health of one in nine women of reproductive age. Tissues similar to the uterine lining grow in other parts of the body, causing pain and infertility. Studies have shown that people with endometriosis have a slightly increased risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer.
Researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia, have demonstrated a genetic link between subtypes of endometriosis and ovarian cancer, allowing them to identify potential therapeutic targets and to better understand these two diseases.
In this work, published in the scientific journal “Cell Reports Medicine”, these researchers conducted an in-depth genetic study to identify the genetic basis of this risk, in order to better understand the biological overlap between these reproductive disorders.
“There was a need to learn more regarding how they develop, the risk factors associated with them, and the pathways that endometriosis and different types of ovarian cancer share,” says Sally Mortlock. , principal investigator.
“Our research shows that people with certain genetic markers that predispose them to endometriosis are also at increased risk for certain subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancer, including clear cell and endometrioid,” she explains. .
Dr. Mortlock points out that although the diseases are genetically linked, the risk of ovarian cancer in people with endometriosis is not significantly higher.
“Overall, studies have estimated that one in 76 women will be at risk of developing ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Having endometriosis slightly increases this risk to 1 in 55, so the overall risk remains very low,” he says.
The study highlighted genes that might be drug targets for the treatment of endometriosis and epithelial ovarian cancer in the future. “We explored specific areas of DNA that increase the risk of both diseases and identified genes in ovarian and uterine tissues that might be therapeutic targets and that might be useful in understanding the link between the disorders and in disrupting the biological pathways that cause cancer,” she explains.
The researchers combined large data sets comparing the genomes of 15,000 people with endometriosis and 25,000 people with ovarian cancer to find an overlap in risk factors between the two diseases.