Breast cancer-causing genes identified

Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. cancer epidemiologists have identified specific genes they say might cause cancer when exposed to a process called DNA promoter hypermethylation.

Hypermethylation is a process that causes genes that promote normal cell growth to produce proteins that cause malignant behavior, or unregulated cell growth. Until now, data has been very limited regarding the mechanism and causes of hypermethylation, especially for hypermethylation in breast cancer.

The University of Buffalo study was aimed at determining how DNA hypermethylation relates to other characteristics of breast tumors.

"It is well known that mutation in genes -- alterations in their sequence -- is one of the characteristics of tumors responsible for some of their disease properties," said Assistant Professor Menghua Tao, the study's first author. "In addition, it is now becoming clear that other changes in the DNA may also contribute to the development of cancer.

"Our data suggested that promoter hypermethylation is common in breast cancer," Tao added. "Because promoter hypermethylation is potentially reversible, identifying cancers with different hypermethylation may have important consequences for breast-cancer treatment."

Details of the research were presented at the American Association of Cancer Research meeting held in Los Angeles in April.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.