Most—and possibly all—ovarian cancers start not in ovaries, but instead in the fallopian tubes to which they are attached. This is the finding of a multicenter study of ovarian cancer genetics led by researchers from Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health, and published online October 17 in Nature Communications.

“Based on a better understanding of its origins, our study suggests new strategies for the prevention and early detection of ovarian cancer,” senior study author Douglas A. Levine, MD, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Perlmutter Cancer Center and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU School of Medicine, tells Medscape.

The results revolve around the fallopian tubes, which enable egg cells that have the potential to be fertilized and become embryos to pass from the ovaries, where they are made, to the uterus. The new study found that ovarian cancer cells have more in common with cells covering the tips of fallopian tubes than with those on the surface of ovaries.

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