Further exploration of the functional relevance of the strongest hits in the 17q21.31 locus (P<10−8 in BRCA1/2 combined) provided evidence that cis-regulatory variation alters expression of several genes at 17q21, including PLEKHM1, c17orf69, ARHGAP27, MAPT, KANSL1 and WNT3[39], [41] (Table S9, Figure S12), suggesting that ovarian cancer risk may be associated with altered expression of one or more genes in this region. This evidence concerns the gene BRCA1 and ovarian cancer.