Join us for the next instalment of the STAGE International Speaker Seminar Series (ISSS) with
Ellen L. Goode
Professor of Epidemiology
Health Sciences Research
Mayo Clinic
Talk Title:
Integrative Molecular Epidemiology of Ovarian Cancer
Abstract:
Epithelial ovarian cancer is a significant cause of women’s gynecologic morbidity and mortality. It is now thought that the five most common histotypes (high-grade serous, endometrial, clear cell, mucinous, low-grade serous) arise from distinct pre-neoplastic lesions with varied somatic mutation spectrums. While high-penetrance genes (e.g., BRCA1, BRCA2, MLH1, MSH2) are known to contribute to risk, the residual risk associated with family history that is attributable other particular inherited factors remains to be elucidated. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) within large consortia have identified nearly thirty common variants associated with modest risk of this disease. This seminar will provide an overview of the methods and results from these studies, including genome-wide panels and a series of customized arrays (e.g., iCOGS, OncoArray). In addition, detailed characterization of a subset of cases will be described which demonstrates the power of integrating tumor and germline features, in part, to characterize GWAS-identified loci. As other clinically relevant phenotypes may also be predicted by the genomic features of epithelial ovarian cancers, ideas for further investigation will also be explored. These include the search for rare variants, fine-mapping in non-European populations, and “pan-cancer” genomic analyses. In sum, the genetic epidemiology of epithelial ovarian cancer can serve as a framework for integrative studies of other complex traits.
Speaker Profile:
Unavailable
Speaker Poster:
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