PreOvar® Overview

PreOvar® is a new genetic test that identifies a marker called the KRAS-variant. The KRAS-variant is an inherited, germ-line variant that leads to altered control of the KRAS oncogene and serves as a genetic marker of an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20647319). The KRAS-variant is significantly enriched in families with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC), is associated with premenopausal triple negative breast cancer (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21435948), and is enriched in women with both breast and ovarian cancer (in press), suggesting that the KRAS-variant is a new genetic marker of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk for those families previously considered ‘uninformative’. The KRAS-variant is present in 25% women with newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer. While preventing all ovarian cancer is important, women with the KRAS-variant have very aggressive ovarian cancer, and are twice as likely to die of their ovarian cancer (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22139083).