In an exciting new discovery that could lead to new breast cancer
treatments, scientists have identified five new genes linked to the
disease, as well as 13 new “mutational signatures” that influence tumor
development. The discovery, by a team of scientists led by Dr. Serena Nik-Zainal,
with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, was based on an analysis of
560 breast cancer genomes of 556 female and four male patients from
around the world. The researchers found that breast cancer genomes are highly individual,
noting that women who carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, known to increase
the risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer, had completely
different genomes.
This discovery could lead to a much more specific classification of
patients, and more effective personalized treatments tailored to
individuals with the disease, the researchers said.
"This huge study, examining in great detail the many thousands of
mutations present in each of the genomes of 560 cases brings us much
closer to a complete description of the changes in DNA in breast cancer
and thus to a comprehensive understanding of the causes of the disease
and the opportunities for new treatments.”
No comments:
Post a Comment