Cancer: Cervical cells may aid the detection of ovarian and breast cancers
A paper suggesting that cells collected from cervical cancer screening may be used to identify ovarian cancer,Nature Communications. Will be published in.In another paper, it was reported that a test method was developed that could determine the presence of breast cancer using cervical cells collected at regular examinations.Both findings come from a small cohort of women, but may enable early detection of ovarian and breast cancer.
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer-related deaths, and currently 75% of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in the late stages of tumor metastasis.Early detection of ovarian cancer may improve outcomes.Breast cancer, on the other hand, is the most common cancer in females and is usually detected by mammography and subsequent biopsy.Previous studies suggest that DNA changes may be used to predict the risk of developing these cancers.
Here, Martin Widschwendter and colleagues used cervical cell specimens from a cohort of 242 women with cancer of the ovaries and 869 women without cancer of the ovaries. Widschwendter et al. Measured 1 epigenetic changes (molecular modifications that change gene expression patterns without changing the DNA itself) in these specimens.The results identified DNA methylation signatures that could be used to identify or predict the presence of ovarian cancer.In this cohort, the methylation signature was used to identify ovarian cancer with 4000% specificity in 50% of women with ovarian cancer <71.4 years and 50% of women with ovarian cancer over 54.5 years. Was done.This finding was validated in yet another female cohort (75 ovarian cancer patients and 47 non-ovarian cancer patients), revealing that women with higher test scores may be at increased risk of ovarian cancer. rice field.
In a second study, Widschwendter and colleagues analyzed epigenetic changes in cervical cell specimens from 2 women with poor prognosis and 329 women without breast cancer, and breast cancer based on epigenetic signatures. It was revealed that the female of the uterus can be identified.This finding was also confirmed in a smaller set of specimens (869 women with breast cancer and 113 women without breast cancer).
While these findings suggest that the use of epigenetic signatures may help detect ovarian and breast cancer, Widschwendter and colleagues suggest that these tests may help women develop ovarian and breast cancer. It concludes that further research and large prospective clinical trials are needed to determine if it may be predictable.
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Reprinted from: "Cancer: Cervical cells may help detect ovarian and breast cancer'
