Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Second Gene Linked to Familial Testicular Cancer BETHESDA, Md -- June 29, 2009 -- Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man’s risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, according to a study published online June 23 in Cancer Research. This is only the second gene to be identified that affects the risk of familial testicular cancer, and the first gene in a key biochemical pathway. “This study contributes to our understanding of why testicular germ cell cancer appears to run in families,” said Raynard Kington, MD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. “The findings may also lead to new ways to identify men at high risk, as well as more effective ways to prevent and treat testicular germ cell cancer.” The key pathway in this disease is the cyclic AMP pathway, which regulates how cells respond to such signals as hormones. Drugs that affect the cyclic AMP pathway are widely available, and, in theory, could affect progression of testicular cancer. In the study, researchers found that 7 different mutations in the gene in question, PDE11A, created abnormal versions of the PDE11A enzyme that slowed down the enzyme’s destruction of cyclic AMP. “The mutations don’t cause cancer directly, but instead appear to increase an individual’s susceptibility to developing a tumour,” explained senior author, Constantine Stratakis, MD, Section on Endocrinology and Genetics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, Maryland. “Almost 1 out of every 5 families we studied had a variation in the gene that affected its functioning.” Dr. Stratakis and colleagues analysed the portion of the DNA from 95 familial testicular cancer patients that contains the PDE11A gene. They found 7 mutations in the cancer patients, and noted that the rate at which they were detected was much higher than that seen in the DNA of people without testicular cancer. The researchers also had access to the DNA of a group of healthy men, who had been screened for diseases of the endocrine organs, including the testicles. None of the men who screened negative carried any of the genetic mutations identified in the familial testicular cancer patients. “Because this group had no mutations in PDE11A, we were more confident that the mutations had something to do with testicular cancer,” said Larissa Korde, MD, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. Learning how disruptions in the PDE11A enzyme lead to an increased risk of tumour formation may help researchers identify other proteins that also play a role, Stratakis said. He indicated that a good place to look is among other proteins in the cyclic AMP pathway. Stratakis noted that PDE11A is also highly expressed in the prostate gland. He and his colleagues are now undertaking the research to find the frequency of PDE11A mutations in patients with prostate cancer. SOURCE: National Institutes of Health E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version