Molecular Testing of the Ovarian Tumor
In addition to genetic testing for inherited, or germline, mutations, your doctor may also recommend running laboratory tests on a tumor to identify specific genes, proteins, and other factors unique to the tumor.
Genetic changes in the tumor cells are called somatic mutations. ASCO recommends that all women with epithelial ovarian cancer who do not carry a germline mutation receive somatic tumor testing.
Somatic tumor testing can look for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in the tumor. And women with clear cell, endometrioid, mucinous, or other types of epithelial ovarian cancer should also be offered somatic testing for a feature called mismatch repair defect (dMMR).
This means the tumor does not repair damage to its DNA very well, which can lead the tumor to develop DNA mutations or changes. Results of these tests can help determine your treatment options.
