Common Gene Between Aging & Cancer Identified

One of the most common types of blood cancer, myeloma is marked a gene called TERC, which regulates the length of the telomere endcaps present on DNA.  In healthy cells, these caps erode over time – causing tissues to age – but some cancer cells seem able to ignore the aging trigger in order to keep on dividing. If further studies confirm the link, TERC could be a target for future myeloma treatments.  Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (United Kingdom) found the new markers by comparing the genetic make-up of a total of 4,692 myeloma patients with DNA from 10,990 people without the disease. A previous UK study led by the same team found three genetic variants, which lead to increased risk of developing myeloma. In the present study, the team all of the four newly identified genetic variants are close to genes which are likely to play important roles in causing myeloma. Writing that: “We identified four risk loci at 3q26.2, 6p21.33, 17p11.2 and 22q13.1,” the study authors submit that: “These data provide further evidence for genetic susceptibility to this B-cell hematological malignancy, as well as insight into the biological basis of predisposition.”