Scientists co-led by Dr. Jaclyn LoPiccolo, an attending physician and lung-cancer researcher at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, found that people with a mutation in the EGFR gene had a 25-fold higher risk of developing lung cancer compared to people without the mutation, regardless of whether they smoked. When the researchers looked just at nonsmokers, the risk was even higher: carriers of the mutation had a 60-fold higher risk compared to nonsmokers who didn't have the mutation. Since nonsmokers have a lower chance of developing lung cancer than smokers, this jump in risk reflects how strongly this genetic mutation might impact risk, LoPiccolo says.
LoPiccolo and her team used a large data set of genetic samples from the genetics company 23andMe to determine how much of an impact the mutation has on lung cancer. “While we knew that T790M was associated with lung cancer, we didn’t have a population large enough to determine how common the variant was, how strong its effect, and how the risk varies in different groups,” says LoPiccolo. “This mutation is so rare that we weren’t able to get population-level risk estimates without the size of a database like that from 23andMe.” About one in 15,000 people in the U.S. carry the mutation, but rates are higher—about one in 2,000—in Southern Appalachia, where scientists believe the first carrier brought the mutation to the U.S. from England or Ireland more than 200 years ago.
Litterman points to BRCA genetic testing for breast cancer as a potential model for lung cancer. “The lung-cancer guidelines are not quite there yet, but it’s a pretty clear path of what it could look like for people who are carriers of this mutation,” she says. “They could be screened on a more regular basis, and if they develop cancer, and it’s caught early, they would have a much better trajectory than if they didn’t know about [their genetic] risk.”
A few months later, his daughter, who is now 33, was diagnosed with melanoma in her ear and was asked about her family history of cancer. She joined a study and provided samples to look for markers of cancer, and while she did not carry many common cancer mutations, she did carry T790M. But for now, there are no evidence-based recommendations to follow when it comes to how she should be monitoring her lungs for signs of cancer. “That’s why I’m pushing for how we can screen younger people, knowing that she has a genetic risk, and what low-dose screening she should get," says McKenna. "If something were to appear, she can catch it at an early stage, perhaps Stage I, and not go through Stage IV, because there are not as many options, and the outlook is not as positive.”
Such data will be critical to changing lung-cancer screening guidelines and providing families like the McKennas more peace of mind that they are giving themselves the best chance of conquering cancer. “I have scans every six to seven months,” says McKenna. “Because when you read any research on targeted therapies, one of the first things they say is that cancer will find a way to overcome the therapy. Fortunately, my last scan a few weeks ago was still clear, but what if you could catch the cancer early with screening often enough so it’s much easier to treat?"
Hence then, the article about a genetic mutation may help explain lung cancer in nonsmokers was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( A Genetic Mutation May Help Explain Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers )
Also on site :
- Matthew Rhys, Ruth Wilson, Phoebe Dynevor & Harriet Walter Set For Audible Thriller ‘All She Wants For Christmas’
- Partior and LSEG DiSH Collaborate to Bring Always-On Settlement Bank Liquidity to Partior's Cross-Border Payments Network
- Lola Tung and Daniel Bravo Hernández to Lead New York Theatre Workshop Benefit Reading of ‘Sanctuary City’