Epithelial ovarian cancer risk: A review of the current genetic landscape |
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Authors: | Nicola Flaum Emma J Crosbie Richard J Edmondson Miriam J Smith Dafydd G Evans |
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Institution: | 1. Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK;2. Division of Cancer Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK
Department of Gynaecology, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK |
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Abstract: | Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death in women in the developed world, and one of the most heritable cancers. One of the most significant risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Combined risk factors can be used in models to stratify risk of EOC, and aid in decisions regarding risk-reduction strategies. Germline pathogenic variants in EOC susceptibility genes including those involved in homologous recombination and mismatch repair pathways are present in approximately 22% to 25% of EOC. These genes are associated with an estimated lifetime risk of EOC of 13% to 60% for BRCA1 variants and 10% to 25% for BRCA2 variants, with lower risks associated with remaining genes. Genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) thought to explain an additional 6.4% of the familial risk of ovarian cancer, with 34 susceptibility loci identified to date. However, an unknown proportion of the genetic component of EOC risk remains unexplained. This review comprises an overview of individual genes and SNPs suspected to contribute to risk of EOC, and discusses use of a polygenic risk score to predict individual cancer risk more accurately. |
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Keywords: | BRCA genetic risk homologous recombination mismatch repair ovarian cancer polygenic risk score SNPs |
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