IDENTIFIED A GENE COMMON BETWEEN CANCER AND AGING
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A recent study has identified a gene common to both the aging process as cancer.
Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London have found a genetic variant that affects the aging process and at the same time myeloma - one of the most common types of blood cancer.
The study establishes that genetic variants linked to myeloma are seven , and sheds new light on the genetic causes of the disease. The team found the new markers by comparing the genetic makeup of a total of 4,692 patients with myeloma with that of 10,990 healthy people.
The research, published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics, was funded by the charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research and Myeloma UK , with additional support from Cancer Research UK.
Myeloma affects approximately 4,700 patients each year , and is caused by genetic mutations in white blood cells , which normally help fight infection and injury . Less than 4 out of 10 myeloma patients survive the disease for more than five years and 3 out of 10 die within a year.
A genetic marker discovered by researchers is linked to a gene called TERC , which adjusts the length of the head of the telomeres at the ends of the DNA .
Professor Richard Houlston , Professor of Molecular Genetics and Population at the Institute of Cancer Research , said: "Our study has taken an important step forward in understanding the genetics of myeloma , and suggested a potential link with an interesting gene that acts as a timer within a cell . will be fascinating to explore whether blood cancers are the result of a direct genetic link. Understanding of the genetics of blood cancers should enable us to assess the risk of a person and to identify new roads for the treatment . "
Source: Worldhealth
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