Researchers at Stanford Medicine studied different biological pathways that are associated with the chance of inheriting cancer. These researchers found less than 400 pathways that are functionally related to the risk of inheriting cancer. This research was the first large scale screening of DNA changes to determine which exact changes in nucleotide changes lead to cancer. The study focused on the DNA sequences that existed after conception. This is referred to as a germ line genome because it is not the DNA changes that occur during the life of an individual. The study saw 380 variants that control the cancer associated gene expression. Major mutations in genes that have an association with the risk of inheriting cancer are the BCRA1 and BCRA2 genes; these genes indicate a higher risk of inheriting breast cancer.
Figure 1. Location of BCRA1 and BCRA2 Genes on Chromosomes
In this article, the author mentioned that this research opens doors to being able to assess a persons lifetime risk of having cancer. This idea could be interpreted in two ways. A person might want to know what the chances of them having cancer in their lifetime can be to feel relieved, grateful, or even so they can make life decisions that can help their situation if they were to be diagnosed. However, on the other side of things, people can fixate on their determined risk of having cancer and never be able to relax because they feel impending doom. Ultimately, I believe this research is beneficial to learning more about cancer and how it is inherited but individuals might have mixed emotions about hearing their lifetime risk of cancer.
Source: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/02/dna-cancer-risk.html
Additional link from National Cancer Institute focusing on BRCA gene:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet
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