Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Sep 17.
Published in final edited form as: Gynecol Oncol. 2008 Mar 14;109(2):168–173. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2008.01.012

Table I.

Evidence supporting the distal fallopian tube as a source of pelvic epithelial malignancy in women with heterozygous BRCA mutations.

  1. The distal fallopian tube is the dominant site for tubal carcinogenesis in all women irrespective of known genetic risk factors.11

  2. Up to 100% of early carcinomas detected in prophylactic salpingooophorectomies from BRCA+ women have involved the distal tube. 9, 10, 19

  3. Identical p53 mutations have been confirmed in both early tubal carcinomas and remote tumors of the ovary in women with pelvic serous carcinoma. 12

  4. p53 Positive tubal “dysplasias have been described in BRCA+ women. 28

  5. A candidate precursor (p53 signature) sharing location (distal tube), p53 mutations, secretory cell type, and DNA damage with pelvic serous cancer commonly occurs in BRCA+ women (and controls).14

  6. p53 signatures frequently co-exist with early tubal serous cancer in BRCA+ women and have been demonstrated in continuity with malignant epithelium.14

  7. p53 signatures or other candidate precursors have not been confirmed in ovarian cortical inclusion cysts of BRCA+ women (current study).6