Study Identifies Gene for Ovarian Cancer

An excess of the Rsf-1 gene may play an important role in the development of ovariancancer, based on an analysis of tissue from 7 ovarian cancer samples. Using a digital karyotypingtechnique to identify "subchromosomal alterations," the researchers observed anoverproduction of the Rsf-1 gene located on chromosome 11 in 13.2% of the most aggressiveforms of ovarian cancer. These results were not seen in any of the low-grade ovariancancers.

Because this was the first study to identify this genetic alteration, the new finding maylead to the development of a drug to block the activity of Rsf-1 and therefore stop the cancerouscell growth, concluded senior researcher Tian-Li Wang, PhD, in the Proceedings ofthe National Academy of Sciences (September 27, 2005).