Researchers have identified 3 new genes that seem to work together and that are associated with 20% of lung cancers. These are the same genes that are linked to fetal lung development the report states. According to a report in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, understanding how these genes are interrelated could be important in stopping the formation of tumors.
We have discovered a frequent genetic mutation in lung cancer," said lead researcher David Mu, from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. "This mutation is found in 20 percent of non-small cell lung cancer, which makes up about 80 percent of all lung cancer."
The 3 genes, labeled TTF1, NKX2-8 and PAX9, are located next to each other on chromosome 24 and function together to promote tumor growth. While these genes are also involved in fetal lung developments, in adults they can mutate into a malignancy that changes healthy lung cells into cancerous ones.
More research will be done to understand how these genes function so that the possibility may one day exist to block the tumor growth and to enable doctors to predict and tailor treatments to individual patients.
[Via: Yahoo News]
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