An article in Medical News Today from March 8, 2012, revealed a study being conducted at the Moffitt Cancer Center and 11 other institutions in the UK and the US. These studies have discovered a novel set of genes that are associated with patients that have survived Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC). EOC is the most deadly gynecologic cancer, and these findings can open the door to new treatments and therapies for this horrible disease.
The researchers used gene set analysis to EOC databases. 857 genes related to EOC were analyzed and mapped to show components in the cell that are activated and cause a change in the state of the cell. One of the most important gene sets analyzed was made up of a set of 8 genes that had macrolide "binding" that involve intercellular signaling that also interact with the immune suppressant FK506.
Focus is now being put by researchers on the function and role of these specific gene sets. They expect that this may aid in identifying additional genetic causes of complex traits. Researchers are concentrating on the gene sets specifically in EOC survival data in a genome-wide association study. Gene set analysis contributes to the understanding of the relationship between EOC genetic variation and mortality. I hope that the results can lead to the discovery of a cure for EOC in the near future.
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