Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Lung Cancer Biomarkers Identified

An article on Science Daily states the new findings of Yafang Li and researchers at Dartmouth college. They have identified three new lung cancer biomarkers. There are two causes behind lung cancer, the environment and genes. It is well known that smoking causes lung cancer but there are actually gene variants that affect a person's susceptibility to smoking. These genes are the culprits behind the development of lung cancer. The biomarkers found are called novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and they emphasize the vulnerability of developing lung cancer. In other words, a person's smoking behavior, which increases their chance of obtaining lung cancer, is influenced by these three SNPs. An article on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News reinforces the findings, showing the p-values in the study that were used to identify the three SNPs.
 
 I believe this new finding is a tremendous step in the treatment for those with lung cancer. As technology advances, research does too, which enables us to better understand certain diseases and come up with an effective plan to cure those diseases. However, the research study was only done in a Caucasian population. Therefore, the genes found might not be the same in other ethnicities. I believe the research team should expand their findings in other populations. The research team is determined to do so and test other populations so more gene-smoking interactions are found.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171028081456.htm
https://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/novel-lung-cancer-biomarkers-identified/81255101

1 comment:

  1. This is an interesting article, I did not know there were gene variants for smoking that affect peoples' smoking behaviors. I know a few relatives that smoke and it's crazy to think that the reason for their smoking habit could have been due to a genetic impact. I agree that this new study could influence awareness and hopefully promote healthier habits.

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