Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Another Possible Risk

Women with BRCA gene mutations may not only be at increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer, but also for uterine cancer, the Associated Press reports.

At a the Society of Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Noah Kauff said that in a study of almost 300 women with BRCA1 gene mutations, he and his colleagues identified four women with aggressive uterine cancers after they've had surgery to remove their ovaries. This rate of uterine cancer, the AP says, is some 26 times higher than expected.

Kauff adds that uterine cancer is usually low risk and treated with surgery, making the higher rate of aggressive cancer in women with BRCA1 mutations worrisome.

"It's important for women to have that information ... but I think it's too early to strongly recommend to patients that they undergo a hysterectomy," Karen Lu from MD Anderson Cancer Center tells the AP. She says that more work needs to be done to confirm the findings.

The Scan

Foxtail Millet Pangenome, Graph-Based Reference Genome

Researchers in Nature Genetics described their generation of a foxtail millet pangenome, which they say can help in crop trait improvement.

Protein Length Distribution Consistent Across Species

An analysis in Genome Biology compares the lengths of proteins across more than 2,300 species, finding similar distributions.

Novel Genetic Loci Linked to Insulin Resistance in New Study

A team reports in Nature Genetics that it used glucose challenge test data to home in on candidate genes involved in in GLUT4 expression or trafficking.

RNA Editing in Octopuses Seems to Help Acclimation to Shifts in Water Temperature

A paper in Cell reports that octopuses use RNA editing to help them adjust to different water temperatures.