Researchers Discover Cancer-Related Genes
Researchers have identified a new cancer gene with the help of number-crunching computers programmed to explore the genetic code.
The gene found on the X chromosome, called UTX, is found in 10% of cases of multiple myeloma and 8% of esophageal cancers.
UTX plays a role in regulation of many genes, and it is possible that other genes with similar roles will also be found to be involved in different tumor types.
"UTX is an important component of the transcriptional control machinery – it influences some of the most fundamental mechanisms controlling gene activity in our cells," explains Dr Andy Futreal, co-leader of the Cancer Genome Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
Two different teams published the research in the journal Nature Genetics; the findings could open up avenues to identify people at risk and, potentially, new drugs to block the mechanisms that let cancers proliferate.
British-based researchers said UTX controls an enzyme that contributes to the structure of DNA in our cells. The enzyme also acts as a switch, turning other genes on and off.
In a massive genetic study of tissue samples from patients with a form of kidney cancer, the scientists found a rare commonality among a mutated form of UTX.
"It influences some of the most fundamental mechanisms controlling gene activity in our cells," said Futreal.
"Unlike many cancer genes, UTX does not appear to be directly involved in cell division or cell death but in basic regulation, and shows the depths to which cancers will plumb in order to get themselves ready to go."
A separate team of investigators in the United States and Britain identified several new genetic regions pointing to an enhanced risk for breast cancer.
Breast cancer in the past has mainly been linked to lifestyle and environmental factors, such as exposure to tobacco smoke.
Now researchers say half a dozen mutated genes are linked to vulnerability to breast cancer, most famously the variants of the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes, for which genetic tests are available. Yet, scientists warns the list of culprits is far from complete.
Meanwhile, researchers from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported they had uncovered new details into melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
They found that an enzyme gene called MMP-8 is designed to suppress tumor growth and variants in the gene allow cancers to grow out of control.
The finding is important, because MMP-8 scientists previously considered it to be a different category of gene called an oncogene, which sends signals to promote cancer growth as opposed to suppressing it.
This could explain why drugs designed to inhibit members of the MMP family have often failed to work.
"In the estimated six percent of melanoma patients whose tumors harbor a mutated MMP-8 gene or related tumor suppressor, it may not be wise to block all MMPs," the NIH wrote.
"The study suggests that a better approach may be to look for drugs that restore or increase MMP-8 function or for drugs that block only those MMPs that are truly oncogenes."
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