Childhood cancer genes found

Tuesday April 6th, 2010

British scientists say they may have cracked the genetic code of a cancer that affects the kidneys of children.

The disease, Wilms' tumour, affects about 80 children a year in Britain - and one in ten of these may not be successfully treated.

Now scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, say they have found two genes linked to the disease.

The genes are called MYCN and FBXW7 and MYCN is linked to the most dangerous forms of the disease, according to the research published in Clinical Cancer Research.

MYCN has also been linked to other cancers and treatments are already being developed for it.

Researcher Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones said stronger treatments could be developed for children identified as having the most serious form of disease.

She said: "We hope that these findings could open new avenues for treatment and also help target treatments to those children with the more aggressive forms of Wilms' tumour - the type that's more likely to return.

"Although treatment for most children with the disease is successful, we now have a useful marker to help us identify those with the high risk form of the disease."

Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK, which financed the treatment, said: "This research could be an important step in discovering new treatments for children whose cancer is harder to treat."

Pritchard-Jones, K., et al Subtype-specific FBXW7 mutation and MYCN copy number gain in Wilms' tumour (2010) Clinical Cancer Research.

Tags: Cancer | Child Health | Genetics | UK News

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