(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Advances in genetics are opening doors into disease
research every day. A field of study known as epigenetics has led scientists at
the Institute of Food Research to discover a new way to identify defects that
can lead to colorectal cancer. The discovery raises the possibility that control
of diet and exercise may be key in nipping this cancer in the bud.
Epigenetics is the study of the code of chemical tags attached to the DNA
molecule. The tags mark genes for activity and growth or silence and inaction
either of which can affect the abnormal cell behavior that causes cancer.
Food Institute scientists believe that mistakes in the epigenetic code may begin
to appear in apparently normal tissue long before a tumor begins to grow. The
research showed subtle changes in groups of chemicals attached to the DNA of
bowel cancer patients. They report that the changes can cause cells to become
‘addicted’ to abnormal gene expression which could make the whole surface of the
bowel more vulnerable to the development of tumors.
“We detected clear chemical differences in these genes in otherwise normal
tissue in cancer patients,” said Professor Ian Johnson at the Institute of Food
Research.
The authors of the study point out that some of the tissue changes seem to take
place naturally with age but they are looking into the possibility that
lifestyle factors like diet and exercise can speed them up or slow them down.
Professor Nigel Brown, Director of Science and Technology at the Biotechnology
and Biological Sciences Research Council explained the importance of the
research.
“Understanding how epigenetic processes work to maintain healthy cells and
tissues is the key to long term health,” says Brown. “As we see here, the
breakdown of these normal processes may subsequently cause disease,”
SOURCE: British Journal of Cancer, 2008
