10 new cancer risk genes identified
London, July 12 : Using publicly available data, researchers have identified 10 new genes that are predisposed to ovarian and breast cancer among others, an advance that would contribute to improving cancer diagnoses and prevention in the future.
There are many genetic causes of cancer. While some mutations are inherited from parents, others are acquired all throughout life due to external factors or due to mistakes in copying DNA.
In the study, published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers developed a new statistical method named ALFRED and identified 13 candidate cancer predisposition genes, of which 10 are new from tumour sequencing data.
"We applied our method to the genome sequences of more than 10,000 cancer patients with 30 different tumour types and identified known and new possible cancer predisposition genes that have the potential to contribute substantially to cancer risk," said principal investigator Ben Lehner, ICREA -- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies in Spain.
"Our computational method uses an old idea that cancer genes often require 'two hits' before they cause cancer. We developed a method that allows us to systematically identify these genes from existing cancer genome datasets," said Solip Park, from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) -- a Barcelona-based research facility.
The method allows researchers to find risk variants without a control sample, meaning they do not need to compare cancer patients to groups of healthy people.
"Our results show that the new cancer predisposition genes may have an important role in many types of cancer. For example, they were associated with 14 per cent of ovarian tumours, seven per cent of breast tumours and to about one in 50 of all cancers," Park said.
Inherited variants in one of the newly-proposed risk genes -- NSD1 -- may also be implicated in at least three out of 1,000 cancer patients, the researchers explained.
For the study, the team combined data from many different projects and by applying a new computational method, were able to identify important cancer genes that were not identified by the original studies.
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Cong alleges its Rithala candidate 'assaulted' by EC official
New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.
He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"
Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.
"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.
Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.
.@INCIndia के रिठाला विधानसभा के उम्मीदवार सुशांत मिश्रा (@sushant_m) पर कल @ECISVEEP के एक अधिकारी ने हमला करके उन्हें घायल कर दिया। अधिकारी ने उन्हें पदयात्रा करने से रोकने का भी प्रयास किया, जिसके लिए दिल्ली पुलिस ने पहले ही अनुमति दे दी थी।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 26, 2025
सुशांत मिश्रा दिल्ली विधानसभा… pic.twitter.com/sQ7I6EIvvY
