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Impact of germline copy number variation on endometrial cancer risk

Year:
2019
Duration:
42 months
Approved budget:
$1,145,197.80
Researchers:
Associate Professor Logan Walker
Host:
University of Otago
Health issue:
Cancer (oncology)
Proposal type:
Project
Lay summary
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological tumour in developed countries, and the incidence of this disease is increasing. The disease is associated with significant morbidity due to surgical and radiation treatment options in affected women, increased mortality for Māori, and increased incidence for Pacific women. Furthermore, a significant proportion of endometrial cancers arise in a subset of women who inherit genetic changes that increase risk of developing the disease. However, for most of these women the changes underlying their disease remain undetermined. Our proposal aims to exploit a large international collaboration to identify and functionally characterise genetic changes associated with endometrial cancer. Discoveries from this unique proposal will provide candidate risk factors for future diagnostic and treatment protocols, and provide new insights into the aetiology of endometrial tumour development.