Gene
Variation Linked to Liver Cancer in Hepatitis C Patients
SUMMARY
A genome-wide association study looking at more than 460,000
single nucleotide changes found that a variation in the DEPDC5
gene on chromosome 22 is associated with increased risk of
hepatocellular carcinoma in people with hepatitis C. |
Over
years or decades chronic C virus
(HCV) infection can cause serious liver disease including
advanced cirrhosis
and hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC), a form of primary liver cancer.
In a study described in the July
3, 2011, online edition of Nature Genetics, Daiki Miki
from the RIKEN Institute in Hiroshima and colleagues analyzed
467,538 single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs (variations at
a single location on a gene) in 212 Japanese chronic hepatitis
C patients with HCC and 765 without liver cancer.
The researchers identified an intronic SNP -- rs1012068 -- in
the DEPDC5 locus on chromosome 22 that was associated with elevated
HCC risk. They then confirmed this association in a case-control
population consisting of 710 people with HCC and 1625 without,
finding a highly significant correlation.
"Our findings suggest that common variants within the DEPDC5
locus affect susceptibility to HCC in Japanese individuals with
chronic HCV infection," the study authors concluded.
While deepening our understanding of the mechanisms triggering
HCC, the discovery of the DEPDC5 SNP locus also provides a valuable
target for new therapy techniques, promising progress in the ongoing
battle to overcome one of the world's most deadly cancers, according
to a press release issued by the RIKEN Institute.
Investigator
affiliations: Laboratory for Digestive Diseases, Center for Genomic
Medicine, RIKEN, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Medicine and
Molecular Science, Division of Frontier Medical Science, Programs
for Biomedical Research, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences,
Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
7/8/11
Reference
D Miki, H Ochi, CN Hayes, et al. Variation in the DEPDC5 locus
is associated with progression to hepatocellular carcinoma in
chronic hepatitis C virus carriers. Nature Genetics (abstract).
July 3, 2011 (Epub ahead of print).
Other
Source
RIKEN
Institute. Genetic Variant Linked to Development of Liver Cancer
in Hepatitis C Virus Carriers. Press release. July 4, 2011.
