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Scientific News  Health care Therapy of a gene GENE THAT HALTS OVARIAN CANCER DISCOVERED
GENE THAT HALTS OVARIAN CANCER DISCOVERED
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Ovarian cancer cells grown in microgravity:
a gene that blocks their development has been found (pic: University of
South Florida)
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A gene that stops the development of
ovarian cancer and which could pave the way for the development of new drugs
against the deadly disease has been discovered.
In nearly 90% of the ovarian tumours tested, researchers at British charity Cancer
Research UK found that the gene, called OPCML, was
not functioning. The findings, which are reported in this week's issue of the
journal Nature
Genetics.
"It is an important step forward in the understanding of the basic process
of ovarian cancer, and it adds one further important piece of the jigsaw puzzle
of understanding what actually gives rise to this process," said Dr Hani
Gabra, of the charity's oncology unit in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He and his colleagues found that the genes are switched off in the early stages
of the disease, and do not make proteins. "But when we switch these genes
back on in the cancer cells tumours, are suppressed," Gabra said.
The researchers believe if a drug could be developed to mimic the effects of the
OPCML gene, it could provide a new treatment for the illness.
Ovarian is one the most common cancers in women. It is known as the silent
killer because many women with the illness are not diagnosed until the disease
is in an advanced stage. About 190,000 new cases and 114,000 deaths from ovarian
cancer occur each year, according to the International Agency for Research on
Cancer.
Its symptoms - pain, nausea, weight loss and abdominal swelling - can be
confused with other ailments. Often the cancer is not detected until it has
spread beyond the ovaries, when the five-year survival rate is around 20%.
Gabra believes the findings, which are reported in the journal Nature Genetics,
could lead to earlier diagnosis of the illness and new therapies. Ovarian cancer
is normally treated with surgery and chemotherapy.
When OPCML is switched on, as it is in normal cells, they do not become
cancerous, but when something goes wrong and it is turned off, the disease
occurs. "We now need to work on understanding more about this gene and
exactly how it works and what makes it switch off," Gabra added.
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Publishing date: July 1, 2003
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