gynecology and obstetrics
Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, and Peritoneal Cancer
Etiology of Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer affects mainly perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Median age at diagnosis is 63 years (range, 55 to 64 years) ( Etiology references ). Risk of ovarian cancer is increasedby A history of ovarian cancer in a 1st-degree relative Nulliparity Delayed childbearing Early menarche Delayed menopause A personal or family history of endometrial, breast, or colon cancer Risk is decreasedby Oral contraceptive use ) or inactivation due to methylation ( Etiology references ). Deficiency of homologous recombination (which is involved in the repair of DNA damage and replication) is detected in about half of patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer ( Mutations in the autosomal dominantBRCAgene are associated with a 50 to 85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Women withBRCA1mutations have a 20 to 40% lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer; risk among women withBRCA2mutations is 11 to 20%. Incidence of these mutations is higher in people with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry than in the general population. Mutations in several other genes, includingTP53,PTEN,STK11/LKB1,CDH1,CHEK2,ATM,MLH1, andMSH2, have been associated with hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer. 30. Male Hypogonadism in Children predisposes to ovarian germ cell cancer. 1.National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program: Cancer Stat Facts: Ovarian Cancer. Accessed July 14, 2023 2.Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network: Integrated genomic analyses of ovarian carcinoma.Nature474 (7353):609–615, 2011. doi: 10.1038/nature10166 3.Li X, Heyer WD: Homologous recombination in DNA repair and DNA damage tolerance.Cell Res18 (1):99–113, 2008. doi: 10.1038/cr.2008.1 