Greek professors at the University of Geneva, Thanos Halazonetis, the Department of Molecular Biology Sciences and Stylianos Antonarakis, Chairman of Genetic Medicine at the university’s medical school have devised a genetic mechanism for the transformation of colon polyps.
The causes underlying the development of certain types of common cancers have not yet been elucidated. In order to better determine the origin and the sequence of events responsible for the onset of colon cancer, the teams led by Halazonetis and Antonarakis, said they have sequenced the DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps.
They said that the results show that these precancerous lesions have a specific profile called ‘mutator’, which is associated with an increased frequency of acquisition of certain mutations. The study, published in the December issue of the journal Cancer Research, also designates mutations in three specific genes as being the likely initiators of the progression towards malignancy.
(Source: Science Daily)
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