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| |  Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator Gene Linked to Higher Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: Presented at ASCO-GI By Ed Susman ORLANDO, FL -- January 28, 2008 -- Mayo Clinic researchers say they have found an association between pancreatic cancer and mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene. About 5.3% of the 948 patients who have been treated for pancreatic cancer at Mayo facilities between 2000 and 2006 were found to carry mutations to the gene while 3.8% of more than 13,000 controls recruited from a prenatal testing clinic had the mutations. The presence of the gene means that persons carrying mutations are 1.4 times more likely to development pancreatic cancer than are people who don't have the genetic abnormalities, said study presenter Robert McWilliams, MD, Assistant Professor of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. McWilliams presented the data in a poster session here on January 25 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2008 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GI). The symposium is cosponsored by ASCO with the American Gastroenterology Association Institute, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and the Society of Surgical Oncology. "Mutations in the CFTR gene are common among Caucasians and are associated with pancreatic diseases, including pancreatitis and pancreas insufficiency," Dr. McWilliams said. "Chronic pancreatitis is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of cystic fibrosis have been reported to have an increased risk for young-onset pancreatic cancer." Overall, researchers identified 26 different mutations in the CFTR gene -- although most pancreatic cancer patients were observed to have the Delta-F-508 mutation (35 of 50 patients) which was also seen in 354 of the 510 controls with CFTR mutations. Eight different mutations were found in the cancer patients; 24 different mutations were seen among the controls. Thirty of the 50 pancreatic cancer patients who carry the mutation had smoked tobacco at some point in their life; the median age was 60.5 years, which was significantly younger than the 542 noncarriers with pancreatic cancer who were ever smokers, whose median age was 65 (P =.03). "Known CFTR mutation carriers should be counseled not to smoke, especially if they have other risk factor for pancreatic cancer such as diabetes, a family history of disease, and other factors," said Dr. McWilliams. Funding for the study was provided by the Lustgarden Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, the National Cancer Institute, and the Mayo Clinic SPORE in Pancreatic Cancer.
[Presentation title: CFTR Mutation and Risk for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Abstract 187]
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