A series of studies suggest that there is a genetic link between schizophrenia and cancer. Schizophrenia is a biological condition that affects a person’s ability to think clearly, to manage emotions, make decisions, distinguish reality from fantasy and relate to others.
The studies provide a possible scientific explanation for lower rates of cancer among patients with schizophrenia, despite having poor diets and high rates of smoking. They are led by Dr. Daniel Weinberger of National Institute for Mental Health (NIHM) and American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) members.
Researchers emphasized that many of the genes associated with schizophrenia were the same as the genes associated with cancer, but the cells that had these genes used them in opposite ways in the two disorders.
While cancer results from changes in the genes that cause cells to go into metabolic overdrive and multiply rapidly, those same genes cause cells in schizophrenia to come slow to a crawl.
"We found that many of the same genes are involved in schizophrenia as in cancer, but in a yin and yang way. This will provide critical insight into the molecular structure of schizophrenia," said Weinberger.
The genes showing this yin-yang effect include, NRG1, AKT1, PIK3, COMT, PRODH and ErbB4. While these genes can’t be used to predict exactly who will develop these diseases, Weinberger said that they could be used to help determine risk.
"Cancer and schizophrenia may be strange bedfellows that have similarities at the molecular level. The differences lie in how cells respond to external stimuli. In cancer the molecular system functions to speed up the cell and in schizophrenia, the system is altered in such a way that causes the cells to slow down." Dr. Amande Law of the University of Oxford explained.
Dr. Law heads one of the teams working at the NIMH, which is exploring specific pathways that cells use to make basic decisions about their development and their fate.
"The future research involves using this information to search for therapeutic insights that can reverse these processes, with implications not only for treatment of schizophrenia, but also may be for cancer as well," Weinberger concluded.
linking schizophrenia and cancer
I have one child with schizophrenia and my other child died from cancer. I have often wondered if there was a link between the two but doctors have said no. My son's cancer was of the nerve cells and I am interested in this new report that suggests a possible link.