LONDON: Scientists have found genes
associated with throat cancer. Genome Institute of Singapore and Sun Yat-Sen
University Cancer Centre identified the three new susceptibility genes.
The study, led by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a
biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research
(A*STAR), and the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Centre, identified genetic risk
factors of NPC that advance the understanding of the important role played by
host genetic variation in influencing the susceptibility to this cancer.
NPC is a type of cancer that forms in the epithelial lining of the
nasopharynx, the area of the upper throat that lies behind the nose. It is
particularly prevalent in southern China, such as Guangdong, with an occurrence
rate of about 25 times higher than that in most regions of the world.
NPC is therefore referred to as the Cantonese Cancer (Cantonese is a
Chinese dialect spoken in and around the city of Guangzhou in Southern China).
To search for the genetic risk factors for NPC, the scientists
carried out a comprehensive genetic analysis of the human genome in a large
clinical sample of southern Chinese descent - approximately 5,000 patients and
5,000 controls.
The researchers found that the genetic variation
within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) [1] and the three genes known as
TNFRSF19, MDSIEVI1 and CDKN2A/2B can significantly influence a person's risk of
developing NPC.
The researchers also noticed that these three
susceptibility genes for NPC have been reported to be involved in the
development of leukemia, suggesting there might be some shared biological
mechanism between the developments of these two diseases.
This
finding provides an important opportunity for biologists to understand the
molecular mechanism underlying the development of this cancer, and its unusual
pattern of high prevalence in southern China.
Co-lead author Dr Liu
Jianjun said, "Although many groups have attempted to identify the genetic risk
factors of NPC, the findings of previous studies were limited by the small
number of genes and clinical samples used. Because of this large-scale study of
approximately 10,000 subjects in total, we are able to break through with more
robust evidence compared to previous studies."
Co-lead author Prof
Zeng added, "This finding confirmed the strong genetic effect of HLA locus in
the risk of NPC. By using the high density of genetic markers, our finding helps
to narrow down the chromosome region to search for the causative gene variant(s)
associated with HLA loci. The identification of susceptibility genes involved in
the risk of NPC will help to develop a model for risk prediction and then screen
for high risk populations, which in turn will be helpful for early diagnosis of
NPC."
The findings of the study have been published in Nature
Genetics.
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