Tumor Suppressor Gene: Gene Function 'Lost' In Melanoma And Glioblastoma

ScienceDaily (2008-12-15) -- Researchers have found a gene they say is inactivated in two aggressive cancers -- malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, and glioblastoma multiforme, a lethal brain tumor. They add that because this gene, known as PTPRD, has recently been found to be inactivated in several other cancers as well, their discovery suggests that PTPRD may play a tumor suppressor role in a wide variety of different cancers.

Family History Key Player in Brain Cancer Risk

Monday, September 22, 2008; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Having a family history of cancerous brain tumors puts you at a higher risk of developing the same kind of tumors, a new study says.

The research, published in the Sept. 23 issue ofNeurology, looked at the medical records and family histories of 1,401 people with either astrocytomas, tumors in the brain or spinal cord, or glioblastomas, a more aggressive and deadly category of astrocytomas.

Those whose immediate relatives had glioblastomas had twice the risk of also developing them. People with immediate relatives who had astrocytomas were nearly four times more likely to develop the same kind of tumor.

Massive gene scan finds brain tumor clues

Excerpt:

Posted by Elizabeth Cooney September 4, 2008 02:18 PM

A sweeping survey of cancer genes has turned up previously unknown mutations that lead to brain cancer and possibly explain resistance to a common chemotherapy drug used to treat it, Boston researchers from a multi-center team report. A paper appearing in Nature describes a systematic analysis of 206 glioblastoma multiforme tumors, the kind of cancer that Senator Edward M. Kennedy has. The gene search results come from the Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, a $100 million pilot project funded by the National Institutes of Health to test this kind of large-scale systematic approach to cancer research.

The gene survey confirmed five mutations already identified in brain tumors and found three new ones. The researchers also tracked disruptions in cellular function that the mutations led to, including problems with cell division, cell growth, and repair of DNA damage.

Gene therapy drugs for cancer in 6-7 years

Priyanka Golikeri/ DNA MONEY
Tuesday, 10 June , 2008, 08:44 Cancer, which is caused by faulty genes, kills about 7.5 million people globally each year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

But the good news is, drugs which rectify the faulty genes —- and which can be used to treat breast, skin, prostate, and brain cancers —- would be introduced in India by 2014-15. About 80-90% of all cancers are caused by faulty genes or deficiency of a particular type of gene, says oncologist V Nair from Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. "Gene therapy is a multi-pronged approach which might help to a large extent in controlling the disease. 80% of breast and ovarian cancers are due to faulty genes," says gynaecologist Ranu Patni of Fortis Escorts Hospitals, Jaipur. Gene therapy works like this:

The lack of a gene called MSP36 is believed to cause breast and prostrate cancer. To correct this, a virus is genetically engineered with the MSP36 gene and introduced in the body of the patient through a drug. The gene produces a protein, also called MSP36, which stops blood vessels around the cell from being formed. "This cuts nutrition supply to the cells, which then can't multiply and die out," explains Sanjeev Saxena, chairman and CEO of Actis Biologics Pvt Ltd, the biotechnology company that is currently conducting the lab tests for such drugs. For skin and brain cancers, the virus is infused with a gene called IL21, and introduced in the patient's body. This stops random multiplication of the cancer cells, and simultaneously increase the immunity of the cells to produce proteins such as MSP36 that can kill the cancer cells, says Saxena.

"Lab tests are proving our assumptions and we hope the same would happen with the clinical trials also." It would take six to seven years for the drugs to hit the Indian market, after going through animal and human trials, according to experts.

Data-handling technique finds genes to be team players in curbing brain cancer cell growth

The search for cancer genes is increasingly a matter of molecular “To Tell the Truth,” as scientists seek to distinguish genes actually involved in the disease from those that are imposters. Powerful gene-scanning technology often reveals hundreds or thousands of genetic irregularities in tumor tissue, making it critical for investigators to winnow out the true culprits.