Lack of the predominant BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Jewish ovarian carcinoma patients who previously underwent ovulation induction.

The objective of the present investigation was to assess the presence of BRCA mutations in ovarian carcinoma patients who were previously treated with fertility drugs. The presence of the predominant Jewish BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in archival paraffin-embedded tumor tissue of four Jewish women with ovarian carcinoma who previously underwent ovulation induction with clomiphene citrate, was determined. None of the tissues contained the mutations examined. This preliminary finding does not support the assumption that the presence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in some infertility patients treated by fertility drugs could explain the subsequent development of epithelial ovarian cancer in these women.