Gene Studies Offer Insights Into Cancer

By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter 50 minutes ago
WEDNESDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies have identified genes that play a role in the spread of breast cancer to the lungs, and genes that hamper the effect of chemotherapy.
These discoveries could lead to more effective treatments in stopping cancer's spread and to less toxic chemotherapy, the researchers report in the April 12 issue of Nature.
"Contrary to some of the disappointment and skepticism about progress in cancer research, because we still have a high rate of incidence and a high rate of death, these new basic science developments that are springing from the human genome and new technologies are going to pick up the pace with respect to our understanding of the biology of cancer and the identification of targets for the development of new therapeutic approaches," said Michael White, a professor of cell biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
In his study, White's team discovered 87 genes that affect how people react to chemotherapy drugs.
"We have identified some key elements of the regulatory basis supporting chemo-resistance in human cancer," White said. "The more we can understand about that, the easier it will be to make current chemotherapy more effective."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070411/hl_hsn/genestudiesofferinsightsintocancer