Cancer inherited

Familial prostate cancer inherited in an autosomal dominant manner Mutations in p53, Rb, E-cahedrin, a-catenin, androgen receptor, KAI1, microsatellite instability, loss of heterozygocity at 1,2q,... 

Inherited defects in the nucleotide excision-repair pathway, as in individuals with xeroderma pigmentosum, predispose them to skin cancer. Inherited colon cancer frequently is associated with mutant forms of proteins essential for the mismatch repair pathway. 

DNA sequence data have been used to investigate inherited diseases such as hemophilia and muscular dystrophy, and also in cancer research. 

The retinoblastoma protein was identified originally through studies of an inherited form of eye cancer in children, known as retinoblastoma. The loss of both copies of the Rb gene leads to excessive cell proliferation in the mature retina. This suggested that... 

Faulty mismatch repair has been finked to fieredi-tary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC), one of die most common inherited cancers. Genetic smdies finked HNPCC in some families to a region of cfiromosome 2. The gene located, designated hMSH2, was sub-sequendy shown to encode the human analog of the... 

Don Francisco went back to Granada to spend his final years. There, he still kept an interest in a fraction of his father s land which he had inherited. In 1981, his health visibly declined, and cancer of the intestines was diagnosed. He had to sutler two major operations which were of no avail, and finally he accepted his fate with great fortitude and dignity. Don Francisco spent the following trying months surrounded by his closest relatives, receiving the most devoted care from his wife. He died on November 19, 1983. 

Familial adenomatous polyposis An inherited condition in which numerous polyps form, mainly in the epithelium of the large intestine. While these polyps start out benign, malignant transformation into colon cancer occurs 100% of the time when not treated. 

To date, the majority of gene therapy trials undertaken aim to cure not inherited genetic defects, but cancer. The average annual incidence of cancer reported in the USA alone stands at approximately 1.4 million cases. Survival rates attained by pursuit of conventional therapeutic strategies (surgery, chemo/radiotherapy) stand at about 50 per cent. 

King, M.C., et al., "Tamoxifen and Breast Cancer Incidence Among Women with Inherited Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2," JAMA, 286, 2251-2256 (2001). 

Although gene therapy is a promising treatment option for a number of diseases (including inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections), the technique remains risky and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe and effective. Gene therapy is currently only being tested for the treatment of diseases that have no other cures. 

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