Fathers Can Pass Ovarian Cancer Risk To Their Daughters

BOSTON (CBS) - A new study finds that a higher risk of ovarian cancer can be passed from father to daughter.

Researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY looked at data from the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry and discovered a genetic mutation passed from a father to his daughter on the X-chromosome that puts her at higher risk for ovarian cancer.

When we think of hereditary ovarian cancer, we often think of the BRCA genes that raise the risk of both ovarian cancer and breast cancer in first degree female relatives, but this is a different gene that can be passed down from the father.

This genetic mutation is also associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer in men.

Scientists now hope to identify the exact gene with the hope of improving ovarian cancer screening in women.