The probability of developing breast cancer will be determined by epigenetics

Blood test will predict breast cancer

Copper newsResearchers from University College London (UK) have identified a universal biomarker that makes it possible to predict the likelihood of developing breast cancer by blood analysis, even in the absence of a mutant copy of the BRCA1 oncogene in a woman.

Article by Anjum et al. A BRCA1-mutation associated DNA methylation signature in blood cells predicts sporadic breast cancer incident and survival is published in the journal Genome Medicine. (On the UCL website, you can read a popular summary of the results of the work: New test predicts the risk of non-hereditary breast cancer – VM.)

A mutation in the BRCA1 gene associated with an 85 percent risk of developing breast cancer in its carrier is hereditary and is responsible for about 10 percent of cases. However, the cause of tumor development in the remaining 90 percent of cases not related to genetic predisposition remains unclear. The authors of the study tried to consider this phenomenon from the point of view of epigenetics, which explains the change in gene activity by the influence of changing external conditions. First of all, we are talking about such an important epigenetic mechanism involved in the regulation of gene expression as varying levels of DNA methylation.

Analyzing blood samples collected several years before the diagnosis of breast cancer from participants of two large-scale British population health studies, scientists found that both carriers of the mutant copy of BRCA1 and those who do not have it can identify a characteristic molecular "signature" associated with the level of DNA methylation in certain parts of the genome. The presence of this biomarker in the blood, as the authors found, is associated with a high risk of developing breast cancer in the next few years and high mortality. 

The researchers are confident that the universal indicator of the risk of developing a malignant neoplasm in the mammary gland revealed by them confirms the idea that epigenetic changes in immune cells are a key link in this process, leading to suppression of their ability to resist cancer. Currently, the authors are preparing broader clinical trials of the method of early diagnosis of breast cancer by blood analysis.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru27.06.2014