Common Gene Variant May Help Spur Cancer
Posted on: Tuesday, 4 October 2005, 18:00 CDT
HealthDay News -- Researchers at Northwestern University say they've learned more about how a relatively common gene variant, called TGFBR1*6A, contributes to tumor development.
Previous research found that this variant increases cancer risk by about 24 percent but it's not clear exactly how TGFBR1*6A -- which is found in 13.7 percent of the general population -- contributes to cancer development. The gene has been thought to play a role in colorectal cancers, and perhaps other forms of cancer as well.
TGFBR1*6A is a variant of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), a powerful, naturally occurring inhibitor of cell growth.
This study of 531 patients with head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer found TGFBR1*6A to be frequently acquired in metastatic lesions from colorectal cancer and may give these malignant cells a growth advantage in the presence of TGF-beta.
People who have the TGFBR1*6A variant are at greater likelihood of developing metastases than people who don't have this variant, the researchers found. That means that TGFBR1*6A may serve as a useful "biomarker" for those at risk, the study authors said.
"Since 13.7 percent of the general population and 17.1 percent of patients with a diagnosis of cancer carry at least one copy of the *6A allele, our findings may have substantial public health importance," the researchers said.
"The results [also] highlight a new facet of TGF-beta signaling in cancer and suggest that TGFBR1*6A may represent a potential therapeutic target," they noted.
The study appears in the Oct. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about cancer and genetics.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, news release, Oct. 4, 2005~GENT~~-GEN~~-COL~
Source: HealthSCOUT
Related Articles
- Breast cancer metastasis marker found
- Gene That Causes Childhood Cancer Neuroblastoma Is Found
- New Planar Stereoscopic Digital Mammography Display Demonstrated to Reduce False-Positive Breast Cancer Findings By 49 Percent
- Moffitt Cancer Center Takes Part in Newly Published Study in This Week's New England Journal of Medicine
- Data Presented at AACR Meeting Shows Bavituximab Equivalent Plus Docetaxel Reduces Growth of Both Hormone-Dependent and Hormone-Independent Prostate Cancer By Up to 94 Percent in Preclinical Studies
- Key to Lung Cancer Chemo Resistance Found
- The Patient Pool for Cancer Therapies is Rising at a Higher Rate Than the Growth Rate in Population Across the Ten Latin American Pharmaceutical Markets
- Flaws Are Found in Validating Medical Studies
- Australian Cancer Technology Provides Update on Ongoing Clinical Study of Pentrys Vaccine for Prostate Cancer
- Phase III Study of N, N-Diethyl-2-[4-(Phenylmethyl) Phenoxyl] Ethanamine (BMS-2173801-01) Combined With Doxorubicin Versus Doxorubicin Alone in Metastatic/Recurrent Breast Cancer: National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group Study MA-19
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds