Fibroids

The Morton Laboratory has a longstanding interest in the genetic basis for development of uterine leiomyomata, both from the perspective of somatic changes present in tumors and from genetic variants that predispose some women to develop these tumors.  We have explored somatic events through positional cloning of genomic regions involved in cytologically visible chromosomal rearrangements, and used cytogenetic subgroups to stratify tumors for expression profiling.  Through our ongoing study, Finding Genes for Fibroids, we have recently identified seven linkage peaks in a cohort of white women.  In addition, we have identified an additional region of the genome of interest through performing a genome-wide association analysis in the Women’s Genome Health Study; this result has been replicated in an analysis of white women in an Australian cohort.  Currently, our efforts are focused on recruiting black women for both cytogenetic analyses of tumors to address somatic events in this population and for participation in our efforts to identify predisposition alleles.  To learn more about our fibroids research, please click here to visit our Center for Uterine Fibroids website.