Genetic Characteristics Linked to Cancer
Reported March 27, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — There may be a link between some genetic characteristics and cancer.
New research from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation finds a certain type of homozygosity — having two identical copies of the same gene, one from each parent — may increase your risk of cancer.
In previous research, the authors saw a low frequency of germline — cells with genetic material that could be passed to offspring — heterozygosity — having two different forms of a particular gene, one from each parent — in cancer patients compared with people without cancer. This raised the question whether homozygosity could play a role in predisposing someone to cancer.
In this study, researchers looked at the frequency of germline homozygosity in a large series of patients with three different types of solid tumors. Germline and corresponding tumor DNA was isolated from 385 patients with carcinomas — 147 breast, 116 prostate, and 122 head and neck — and genetically analyzed.
Results show high frequencies of germline homozygosity at specific markers are associated with these cancers compared with controls. Scientists were able to independently validate their findings in a different type of solid tumor — lung carcinoma — by showing an increased frequency of germline homozygosity in cancer cases compared with the control group.
The authors say their findings need to be validated in these solid tumors and explored in other types of cancer. They add if their data can be confirmed by other research, it could be another tool to help predict who is more likely to develop certain cancers.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008;299:1437-1445