Newly Discovered Gene May Predict Aggressive Ovarian Cancer

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have linked alterations in a gene, called Rsf-1, to the most deadly ovarian cancers. The scientists say the discovery is the first to establish a role for the gene in ovarian cancer and may lead to a test that can predict, early on, which patients will develop aggressive disease. "We hope new therapies can be tailored to target Rsf-1, in the same way that Herceptin for breast cancer attacks the Her2/neu gene pathway," says Tian-Li Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of gynecology/obstetrics and oncology at Johns Hopkins. The scientists' findings, reported in the September 27 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, described a surge in the number of Rsf-1 gene copies in 13.2 percent (16 of 121) of high grade ovarian cancers, but not in low grade or benign ovarian tumors. Normally, cells contain two copies of every gene. In cancer cells, the copying mechanism goes haywire creating dozens of gene copies in a process called amplification.