Scientists Find New Genes Linked to Lung Cancer

By Jane Patrick

In a statement released by the National Institutes of Health, a team made up of National Human Genome Research Institute and National Institutes of Health scientists have announced that through an effort to map the genomic changes found in lung cancer, they have discovered a gene alteration that had not been connected to any type of cancer.

"This view of the lung cancer genome is unprecedented, both in its breadth and depth," said senior author Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D., a senior associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and an associate professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston. "It lays an essential foundation, and has already pinpointed an important gene that controls the growth of lung cells. This information offers crucial inroads to the biology of lung cancer and will help shape new strategies for cancer diagnosis and therapy."

Over one million individuals die each year from lung cancer. 150,000 of those are in the U.S. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., and it kills more women than breast cancer. A fact that very few women realize due to the publicity of breast cancer. Lung cancer is not as well publicized, and because of the smoking issue attached to it, many do not like to talk about it. Lung adenocarcinoma, which is the lung cancer that is diagnosed most frequently, was the focus of the study.

The researchers discovered 57 genomic changes that happen often in lung cancer patients. Over 40 of the changes are connected to genes never before associated with lung adenocarcinoma. With more research scientists should be able to identify the genes. At the moment the scientists are just happy about the possibility that the discovery could lead to more ways of stopping the cancer.

"This outstanding work clearly demonstrates the value of comprehensive approaches for exploring the genomic underpinnings of cancer. The impacts of these findings extend far beyond lung cancer and indicate that many more important cancer-related genes still await our discovery," NHGRI Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "Now, we must forge ahead and apply this strategy as quickly as possible to other common types of cancer."

During the study, one of the genes discovered to be associated was found to actually influence growth of cancer in cells. This discovery could lead to certain types of medication that could affect many types of cancers.The study group is laying the ground work for larger scale cancer projects that might be started in the future, including The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Study Identifies Novel Gene Alterations in Lung Cancer, National Institute of Health

Jane Patrick, Lung Cancer Still Kills More Than Breast Cancer, Associated Content