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27/06/2014
Blood Test Could Predict Breast Cancer - Research
A blood test is currently in development that could help predict the likelihood of a woman developing breast cancer, according to research by the University College London (UCL).
The research, published in Genome Medicine, identifies an epigenetic signature in the blood of women predisposed for breast cancer owing to an inherited genetic mutation of the BRCA1 gene.
Epigenetic alterations are thought to be key molecular switches that are involved in the development of cancer. The same signature was discovered in the blood of women without a BRCA1 mutation but who went on to develop breast cancer, making it a potential early marker of women’s cancer in the general population.
BRCA1 mutation is inherited from a parent, and is the cause of at least ten percent of breast cancers. The cause of the remaining 90% of sporadic breast cancers in non-mutation carriers remains to be explained. Scientists are beginning to understand that genetic mutations are not the sole contributors to disease development and that the way in which genes are arranged in our cells can affect whether they function appropriately – that is, whether they are turned on or off. The arrangement and expression of our genes is overseen by the process of epigenetics. One of the most studied epigenetic mechanisms is a process called DNA methylation, which was the focus of the current study.
Professor Martin Widschwendter, the study's lead author and head of the UCL Department of Women's Cancer, said: "We identified an epigenetic signature in women with a mutated BRCA1 gene that was linked to increased cancer risk and lower survival rates. Surprisingly, we found the same signature in large cohorts of women without the BRCA1 mutation and it was able to predict breast cancer risk several years before diagnosis."
(CD)
The research, published in Genome Medicine, identifies an epigenetic signature in the blood of women predisposed for breast cancer owing to an inherited genetic mutation of the BRCA1 gene.
Epigenetic alterations are thought to be key molecular switches that are involved in the development of cancer. The same signature was discovered in the blood of women without a BRCA1 mutation but who went on to develop breast cancer, making it a potential early marker of women’s cancer in the general population.
BRCA1 mutation is inherited from a parent, and is the cause of at least ten percent of breast cancers. The cause of the remaining 90% of sporadic breast cancers in non-mutation carriers remains to be explained. Scientists are beginning to understand that genetic mutations are not the sole contributors to disease development and that the way in which genes are arranged in our cells can affect whether they function appropriately – that is, whether they are turned on or off. The arrangement and expression of our genes is overseen by the process of epigenetics. One of the most studied epigenetic mechanisms is a process called DNA methylation, which was the focus of the current study.
Professor Martin Widschwendter, the study's lead author and head of the UCL Department of Women's Cancer, said: "We identified an epigenetic signature in women with a mutated BRCA1 gene that was linked to increased cancer risk and lower survival rates. Surprisingly, we found the same signature in large cohorts of women without the BRCA1 mutation and it was able to predict breast cancer risk several years before diagnosis."
(CD)
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