Science / Medicine : Gene Identified That May Be Tied to Breast Cancer

A gene that appears to play a vital role in cell division may be a long-sought gene implicated in up to 20% of breast cancer cases, researchers reported last week. Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School said they have discovered that a gene on chromosome 11 produces a type of protein, called cyclin, known to regulate the division of cells. Cancer is characterized by harmful, runaway growth--or division--of cells.

Researchers had already suspected that the gene, called parathyroid adenoma 1 or PRAD 1, is a cancer-promoting gene, based on studies of people with benign tumors of the parathyroid gland that regulates the body’s calcium balance.

The latest evidence, presented in the journal Nature, strongly bolsters the view that PRAD 1 may play a key role in such cancers because it provides a mechanism by which the gene’s product could trigger malignant growth.

Dr. Andrew Arnold, chief author of the study, said PRAD 1 is the first cancer-promoting gene to be directly linked to a cyclin, proteins that have long fascinated scientists because of their crucial role in normal cell division.