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Progesterone Found To Increase Ovarian Cancer Risk

by Medindia Content Team on Jan 12 2005 4:26 PM

A new genetic discovery could help give insight into a very deadly disease. Latest research shows two variations in the gene that codes for the progesterone receptor increase a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer.

The PGR had previously been linked to a higher ovarian cancer risk as well as a lower breast cancer risk in women who carry it. Researchers used biological samples from an ongoing study and examined the variety of gene variations found in the PGR gene to see if there was an association with the risk for ovarian cancer in women.

While scientists say the PGR likely does play a role in the risk of ovarian cancer, they discovered something even more interesting. They found the greatest influence on ovarian cancer risk came from two variations of the gene. These two variations raised a woman’s ovarian cancer risk by nearly four-fold.

In conclusion researchers say they know progesterone appears to protect women from ovarian cancer, while increasing their risk of breast cancer and it was observed that changes in the progesterone receptor, which is what the progesterone hormone does, might decrease the receptor’s efficiency, reducing the influence on the body’s cell. This can lead to ovarian cancer. However, they say that more such studies should be done in the future to confirm this theory.


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