Bringing much hope in cancer cure, Japanese researchers claim that they have identified a gene whose mutation is linked to various forms of cancer.
The finding they say can help develop new treatments for malignant tumors that are difficult to cure, Japan's NHK broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
Researchers from the Jichi Medical University and the University of Tokyo hit upon one gene called RAC while examining about 900 types of genes found in the cells of fibrosarcoma -- a type of bone cancer.
They found a mutant form of the gene producing an abnormal protein that caused normal cells to turn cancerous. Further experiments showed that cancer cells died once the mutant gene was turned off.
According to the researchers, the mutant RAC gene plays a role in a type of breast cancer resistant to most standard drugs. It is also present in lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, malignant melanoma, oral cancer and chronic myeloid leukemia, some acute forms of cancer hard to cure.
Jichi Medical University Professor Hiroyuki Mano, who led the study, says his research team plans to develop ways to screen patients for the mutant gene, and prod pharmaceutical companies to develop a new class of drugs to treat related forms of cancer.
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