New Genetic Risk of Lung Cancer Identified
02 Nov 2008 - Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research have identified two new areas of the genome linked to the development of lung cancer. It builds on research published in April which found another area of the genome which contained genes that put smokers at even greater risk of developing lung cancer.
Professor Richard Houlston, of The Institute’s Molecular and Population Genetics Team in the Section of Cancer Genetics, commented:
“These results are particularly important because two new areas of the genome that we previously did not know were linked to lung cancer have now be identified. Both these regions contain genes that play a role in the development of lung cancer. More research is needed to understand what process is occurring at a molecular level, and how that has the potential to develop into cancer.”
More than 38,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK each year and about 34,000 people die of the disease.
