New Gene Links to Breast Cancer Found
DeCODE Plans Test
To Help Screen Women
For Higher Risk Levels
By MARILYN CHASE
April 28, 2008; Page B11
DeCODE genetics Inc. scientists have identified another set of genes linked to breast cancer and the company said it plans to develop a lab test in the next six months that can spot the presence of these and other genes already known to cause the disease.
DeCODE said two newly discovered genetic variants on chromosome 5 will join gene sets on chromosomes 2, 16 and 10 in a test that would screen women's DNA for their susceptibility to breast cancer. If it succeeds, deCODE will enter the ring with companies such as Myriad Genetics Inc., which markets a test for two rare, dangerous gene variants linked with breast cancer, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2.
---
TESTING TO LIMIT RISK
• The Genes: deCODE Genetics has identified another set of genes linked to breast cancer.
• The Test: The company plans to develop a lab test that can spot the presence of these and other genes already known to cause the disease.
• The Benefit: The test could enable women to limit their risk through screening and medication.But deCODE's test would take a complementary focus, by focusing on different genes that are individually less dangerous, but more widespread in the population and thus linked to more commonly occurring breast cancers.
---
Kári Stefánsson, deCODE's chief executive, said the four sets of genes may jointly account for as much as 52% of the most common breast cancers, which respond to the female hormone estrogen.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 180,000 newly diagnosed cases of invasive breast cancer and 40,000 deaths from the disease will occur in the U.S. this year. Breast cancer arises from the interaction of a host of genes and environmental factors, many yet to be identified. About 70% of breast cancers are deemed "estrogen-receptor positive" -- tumors whose growth is fueled by estrogen.
DeCODE's discovery was made by analyzing genomic data from 40,000 people. The findings were reported Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature.
Independent researchers said the Icelandic company's findings add important pieces to the breast-cancer puzzle, but are too new to allow them to assess the practical impact.
Calling the news "very exciting" but "a little early," Stephen Chanock, chief of the laboratory of translational genomics at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., said, "We're looking forward to the next set of studies that will determine individual and public-health relevance." Dr. Chanock's group has discovered other breast-cancer genes at NCI, a unit of the National Institutes of Health.
In the booming field of genomic diagnosis, deCODE already offers testing for genes linked to Type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer, glaucoma and certain cardiovascular conditions. Myriad, in addition to its BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, offers testing for genes linked to melanoma, colon cancer and susceptibility to side effects of a chemotherapy drug.
Unlike Myriad, which launched a direct-to-consumer ad campaign on the East Coast, deCODE's Dr. Stefánsson said his company seeks to market specific genetic tests mainly through doctors. DeCODE also markets a direct-to-consumer genomic-analysis service called deCODEme.
Dr. Stefánsson praised Myriad's test as "extraordinarily useful" for assessing the BRCA variants in affected families, but said his company's test would be relevant for a broader part of the population.
online.wsj.com |
