Scientists find lung cancer protection gene

Scientists at University College London reported Monday they have discovered a new tumour suppressor gene that appears to protect against lung cancer.

The team found that mutations in the LIMD1 gene were very common in lung cancer samples, strongly implicating the mutations in the development of cancer. They also found that restoring LIMD1 function to lung cancer cells in mice significantly delayed tumour growth.The findings are reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.LIMD1 is located on part of chromosome 3 called 3p21 — an area long suspected to be home to important tumour suppressor genes, as it is missing in many types of cancers, including more than 90% of lung tumours.Dr. Tyson Sharp, who led the research team, said in a statement: “Chromosome 3p is often deleted early in the development of lung cancer, which implies that inactivation of the LIMD1 gene could be a particularly important event in the early stages of lung cancer.””Identifying mutations in key genes such as LIMD1 could enable earlier diagnosis of cancer, as they are early warning signs that something is going wrong.”The Cancer Research UK scientists said they would now see if cancer-causing toxins in tobacco lead to damage of chromosome 3p and subsequent LIMD1 inactivation.(Source: Proc Natl Acad Sci 2004;101:16531-16536: Reuters Health: Oncolink: November 2004.)