Healthy Discoveries: Study finds gene links to common lymphoma cancer

Healthy discoveries

Scientists have found three new gene variations related with the development of Hodgkin lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in young adults, and say the results should help in the development of better treatments.

About a quarter to half of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes, are thought to be triggered by infection with EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), but the sickness can also develop in patients who have never been exposed to the virus.

About a quarter to half of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma, a sort of cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes, are thought to be triggered by infection with EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), but the sickness can also develop in patients who have never been exposed to the virus.

Scientists had suspected genetic factors might be involved, since having a family history of the sickness increases risk, but until now they hadn't been able to recognize any specific genetic risk factors.

In a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, an international team of scientists said that they found three new variations in the letters of the DNA code that give an enlarged risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma. Two of the variants are more common in people not exposed to EBV.

Epstein-Barr virus is a very infectious sort of herpes virus that can cause a number of diseases between mild cold-like symptoms and glandular fever and potentially other autoimmune troubles.

Professor Richard Houlston of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), who led the study said that many cases of Hodgkin lymphoma are linked to Epstein-Barr virus, but they have found the first proof of genes that could be involved in promoting this cancer's development in people not exposed to the virus.

"Understanding the biological triggers for Hodgkin lymphoma is critical as it opens the door to creating new targeted treatments for this sickness."

Latest data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer display almost 68,000 people worldwide were diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008. The global death ratio from this cancer is nearly 21,700 a year.

Houlston's team used a technique called a genome wide association study to scan the whole genomes of 589 Hodgkin lymphoma patients and compare the findings to 5,199 people without the sickness. Then they confirmed the findings by analysing another 5,400 people.

They found genetic variants on chromosomes 2, 8 and 10 were remarkably more common among Hodgkin lymphoma patients than in those without the sickness.

They also found that a region on chromosome 6 -- which contains a family of genes involved in the immune system -- is linked to a higher risk of sickness, a result the scientists said had previously been suspected but not confirmed till now.

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