Researchers Identify New Gene Linked to Colorectal Cancer

Researchers have identified a new gene that causes juvenile polyposis (JP), a condition where patients develop polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and colon, making them more susceptible to developing colorectal and stomach cancers.

The gene, which codes for a protein called bone morphogenetic protein receptor 1A, is the second gene identified as causing JP, according to the study published in the journal Nature Genetics.

The same teams of researchers from the University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, and the Mayo Clinic identified both of these genes.

In juvenile polyposis, the abnormal cells that make up polyps lie just below the cells lining the colon. The researchers are hopeful that a better understanding of how JP works could lead to a better comprehension of a new mechanism of cancer formation where cancers develop because of abnormalities in an adjacent tissue layer.

"If we can understand how these polyps and cancers develop in JP, it may expose a whole new mechanism by which a subset of colon cancer in the rest of the population might form," said Dr. James R. Howe, associate professor of surgery at the University of Iowa. "This understanding might also suggest new targets for therapy and for diagnosis."

"It is very helpful to be able to pay more attention to those patients with the genetic mutation for JP who are at high risk for developing cancer," said Howe. "Also, it is reasonable to substantially reduce expensive and uncomfortable screening for those people who don't have the mutation."

Howe emphasized that genetic counselors are key in referring patients for the study and for providing genetic counseling to patients with JP.

Other sources: University of Iowa