The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that ovarian, uterine and testicular cancers all have the same mutation in a gene called ‘DICER’.
The DICER gene plays a key role in the development and behaviour of normal cells. However, when it mutates, DICER’s function is changed ‘so that it participates directly in the initiation of cancer,’ said co-author Gregg Morin from the Michael Smith Genome Science Centre at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (Canada) in a SAPA report.
Mutation alters gene function
The research found that the mutation does not completely destroy the function of DICER, but rather changes it in a way that stimulates the development of cancer.
Researchers are examining whether DICER plays a role in other cancers, and will investigate if mutant DICER can be manipulated to treat the cancers it causes.
Reproductive cancers
These reproductive cancers are fairly rare, and according to the American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org/index) one in 95 women will develop ovarian cancer in their lifetime, while one in 270 men will develop testicular cancer. No official statistics were available on uterine cancer.
Sources: SAPA, American Cancer Society
