We Are Always At The Risk Of Cancer

Cancer is such a damaging process that parts of our own body grows uncontrollably and harms us severely. We have to understand how and why cancer starts and progresses. Even if we are in best of physical conditions and environment free of any carcinogens and stresses, we will still be at risk of cancer. The very process of staying alive, the metabolism process that goes in our body cells, the process of digestion, growth etc. alone is sufficient risk for this disease.

To understand these basic cancer risks, we have to understand the process of oxidation. The oxygen molecule is the very basis of life without which life cannot last even for few minutes can also. The same oxygen can also harm the body. In the normal metabolic process in our body oxygen oxidizes the food we eat to produce energy. This process not only produces energy but also highly reactive forms of oxygen called free radicals as a by product. These free radicals are unstable ions which can instantly attach to a healthy molecule. When molecules in our cells encounter these free radicals, they suffer serious damage. This process can be self perpetuating as the damaged molecule become free radicals themselves causing series of continuous damage to healthy molecules. When the free radicals damage the molecules in the cells they actually damage the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is the material in the protoplasm of every cell that contains the genetic program and information of life. The DNA is unique for every living organism.

No two humans will have similar DNA, It has been estimated that every cell in our body is subjected to thousands of damaging oxidative attacks to its DNA daily. We could succumb to this damage within few months of life but for the defense mechanism that is there in us in the form of antioxidants. These anti oxidants scavenge these free radicals and prevent them from damaging cellular DNA. Some of these antioxidants are produced in our body and most of them are present in the food we intake. The plant based foods are riches source of anti oxidants called phyto nutrients. Phyto nutrients are present in all plant based edible foods that undergo the photo synthesis process.

Antioxidant metabolism explains the process of cancer. Most of the risk factors for cancer are in one way or another related to an increased rate of free-radical attack on the cells of the body. Apart from internally produced free radicals there are external source of free radicals. These are smoking, excessive unprotected exposure to sunlight, exposure to poisonous chemicals in our food and environment. Many forms of infection and inflammation also promote cancer.

By Andy Kahn

Read More

CHEK2 Gene Increases Risk Of Breast Cancer

Inheriting the wrong version of a gene called CHEK2 doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, Cancer Research UK scientists confirm in a major international study published in the June edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

CHEK2 is the first 'low-risk' gene to have been established as a risk factor. It follows the identification in the mid-1990s of the high-risk genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. The possibility of offering genetic testing for this gene in women with a strong family history of breast cancer is now being researched.

The link between CHEK2 and breast cancer was first proposed in 2002, when a faulty version of the gene was found to be present in some cases with a strong family history of breast cancer. 'Strong family history' indicates at least two close family members have had the disease.

The research, coordinated and analysed by Cancer Research UK's Genetic Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, examined the genes of breast cancer patients and the wider population in the UK, Australia, Finland, Germany and The Netherlands.

The report confirms that the faulty version of the gene, called CHEK2*1100delC, was more common in women diagnosed with breast cancer than in healthy women. In total, they examined the CHEK2 genes of 10 860 women with breast cancer and 9065 healthy women. 

The 1100delC variant was found in 201 women with breast cancer (1.9%) and in 64 healthy individuals (0.7%). Scientists calculate from this that having the variant CHEK2 gene approximately doubles the risk of developing breast cancer, whether or not there is a history of breast cancer in the family.

Lead researcher Professor Doug Easton, of the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Unit, says: "Women with a strong family history of breast cancer can already receive genetic tests for the BRCA genes. The next step will be to evaluate whether testing for CHEK2 is useful in the clinic. At the moment it is not clear in what contexts CHEK2 testing would be appropriate.

"As we identify more genes that impact on hereditary breast cancer, we move closer to a comprehensive genetic test to accurately assess the risk of inheriting the disease."

Women in the general population in the UK have a one in nine chance of developing breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. Carrying CHEK2*1100delC would increase this risk to about one in four. CHEK2 is the first confirmed 'low risk' gene. Scientists believe a number more exist, each pushing up the risk of breast cancer to a moderate degree.

The data suggest the increase in risk was greater for women diagnosed at a younger age. Hereditary factors are generally more important in cancers that occur in younger women.

Professor Easton adds: "This is perhaps the largest study of its kind. It is the most reliable method for calculating the impact of potential breast cancer genes, and is also being applied to other types of cancer."

Scientists believe the normal CHEK2 gene shuts down cells in a safe and controlled way upon detection of DNA damage. This prevents the cell from passing on faulty DNA, and allows time for repair mechanisms to be engaged. If a normal cell is like a car on the motorway, CHEK2 is responsible for spotting problems, pulling onto the hard shoulder and calling the AA.

CHEK2*1100delC is missing a vital piece – the brake pedal in the car – and is unable to initiate shutdown. Carrying this version means faults in other genes are more likely to evade the body's own repair processes and replicate themselves, potentially leading to a tumour.

Professor Robert Souhami, Director of Clinical and External Affairs at Cancer Research UK, says: "Identifying the first of a new set of breast cancer genes puts us in a much better position to tackle breast cancer, both through testing high-risk groups and eventually through new clinical strategies. "

ENDS

Notes for editors CHEK2*1100delC is only found in about 2% of all breast cancer patients, which is why general testing would be impractical. For women with a strong family history of breast cancer, however, screening for the variant would help in assessing each woman's individual risk.

Women with mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a 50-80% chance of developing breast cancer. CHEK2 does not affect this risk because it is part of the same mechanism in cells, but it is thought to be the first of a group of low-risk genes that may explain hereditary breast cancer in families with normal copies of BRCA1 and 2.

This study did not look at breast cancer in men. About 1% of breast cancers are diagnosed in men. Earlier studies did identify CHEK2 as a risk factor in male breast cancer, and further analyses are ongoing.

Information on breast cancer and genes at: http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk.

Read More