Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Genetics Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;Blood / Hematology Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 8:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Multiple myeloma: link to gene involved in aging

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Researchers say that a gene responsible for helping to control the aging process by regulating a "cell's internal clock" may be linked to a type of blood cancer.

Scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research in the UK found a genetic variant called TERC among four new variants that they linked to multiple myeloma - a form of cancer that affects immune cells produced in the bone marrow for circulation in the blood. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Genetics.

The researchers say that this latest discovery takes the number of total genetic variants linked to myeloma to seven, and may help lead to the discovery of genetic causes of the disease.

Myeloma is a relatively uncommon cancer according to the American Cancer Society statistics, with a 1 in 149 risk of developing the disease in the US.

For the study, the research team analyzed the genetic make-up of 4,692 patients who had myeloma, and compared this with DNA of 10,990 people who did not have the blood cancer.

The scientists say that in a previous study they conducted, three genetic variants were discovered in DNA, which was found to increase the risk of myeloma.

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Multiple myeloma: link to gene involved in aging

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