Single nucleotide polymorphisms in both endometriosis and ovarian cancer

摘要

Sir We read with interest the recent article by Heidemann et al. which reviewed the relationship between endometriosis and ovarian cancer in the literature (1). Heidemann et al. (1) concluded that women with endometriosis have an increased risk of developing clear-cell and endometrioid ovarian cancer subtypes. This review highlights the importance of providing follow-up care to endometriosis patients. Heinemann et al. commented on the importance of genotyping (1). Genotyping is the process of determining differences in the genetic make-up of individuals using biologic methods. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), DNA sequence variation in single nucleotides (A, T, G and C) within a gene, are a well known and a commonly used method to investigate genetic differences. Because polymorphisms can affect the function of genes and disease, genetic polymorphisms are a useful method for the prediction and prevention of disease. Preliminary data from our laboratory concerning gene polymorphisms in endometriosis indicate that the MUC4 and ER genes may be linked to endometriosis and we wanted to determine common genetic factors between endometriosis and ovarian cancer (2). Specific keyword searches of the electronic database PubMed (The National Center for Biotechnology Information; NCBI) were used to identify additional polymorphisms and SNPs potentially involved in the relation between endometriosis and ovarian cancer.