Jiao J, et al. - In view of the clinical association of irregular menstruation with an increased risk of ovarian cancer and disease-related mortality, researchers provided the first description of a genetic and epigenetic basis for the clinical relationship between irregular menstruation and increased risk of ovarian cancer. A total of 20 polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients <35 years (10 regular menstruation and 10 irregular menstruation) were recruited for participation. According to findings, similarities were found between patients with irregular menstrual cycles and ovarian cancer in the genetic and epigenetic landscapes, providing additional evidence to distinguish an irregular menstrual cycle as an independent risk to ovarian cancer. Investigators found that the ovarian tissue of irregular menstruation patients shows hypomethylation of DNA and shares the similarities of miRNA and mRNA with ovarian cancer. In patients with irregular menstruation, multiple point mutations in two genes that confer a significantly increased risk for ovarian cancer were also identified.