Public release date: 18-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Henry French henry.french@icr.ac.uk 020-715-35312 Institute of Cancer Research

A gene that helps control the ageing process by acting as a cell's internal clock has been linked to cancer by a major new study.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, found a genetic variant that influences the ageing process among four new variants they linked to myeloma one of the most common types of blood cancer.

The study more than doubles the number of genetic variants linked to myeloma, bringing the total number to seven, and sheds important new light on the genetic causes of the disease.

The research, published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics today (Sunday), was mainly funded by charities Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research and Myeloma UK, with additional support from Cancer Research UK.

Myeloma affects around 4,700 patients each year, and is caused by genetic mutations in white blood cells, which normally help fight infection and injury. Less than four in 10 sufferers survive the disease for more than five years, and three in 10 die within a year (1).

One genetic marker found by the researchers is linked to a gene called TERC, which regulates the length of the telomere 'caps' on the ends of DNA. In healthy cells, these caps erode over time causing tissues to age but some cancer cells seem able to ignore the ageing trigger in order to keep on dividing. If further studies confirm the link, TERC could be a target for future myeloma treatments.

The team found the new markers by comparing the genetic make-up of a total of 4,692 myeloma patients with DNA from 10,990 people without the disease. A previous UK study led by the team, from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and funded by Myeloma UK, found three genetic variants, or 'spelling mistakes' in DNA, which lead to increased risk of developing myeloma.

The team found the new batch of genetic variants by combining their samples with others from researchers in Germany. The combined results gave the scientists more data and therefore greater statistical accuracy.

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Major study links aging gene to blood cancer

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