pancreas cancer : RESEARCHERS FIND REGION OF GENE FOR INHERITED PANCREATIC CANCER ( 1 )

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine have mapped the location of a gene associated with inherited pancreatic cancer, which accounts for about 10 percent of all such malignancies.

Study co-directors David C. Whitcomb, M.D., Ph.D., director of the division of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh; Leonid Kruglyak, Ph.D., a Fred Hutchinson statistical geneticist; and Teresa Brentnall, M.D., a UW gastroenterologist report their findings in an early electronic edition of the April issue of the
American Journal of Human Genetics. The discovery marks the identification of the first genetic defect that is directly linked to pancreatic cancer. By locating the region of the mutation, researchers will now be able to sequence the gene, which has the potential to yield promising new insights into pancreatic cancer.

"By understanding the genetics of pancreatic cancer, we can begin to understand the mechanism by which the disease develops, availing new methods of how to detect, prevent and treat this deadly cancer," said Dr. Whitcomb, who is also director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Genomic Sciences.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat in that it is undetectable by a physical exam, asymptomatic, and progresses quickly - most patients die within 6 months of diagnosis. These factors also limit the amount of data available for research, hindering significant advances in the understanding of the disease.

"Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive cancer with extremely low survival rates," said Ronald B. Herberman, M.D., associate vice chancellor for research, health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. "Until now, we have had very limited ability to identify people at high risk for this disease or to make the diagnosis of the disease before it has invaded the rest of the body. This discovery represents a significant finding that may permit identification of individuals at risk so that they can be monitored regularly, to detect the cancer when it can be treated while still in an early stage, which might substantially enhance the likelihood of survival."

http://www.cancer-info.com/pancreas.htm