Posted by gpak86
| October 7, 2009
| Comments
Natural Genetics published a study this week annoucing the discovery of a gene linked to familial chordoma.
Investigators at Duke University and the National Cancer Institute found that duplication of the gene brachyury is a cause of familial chordoma.
A recent discovery of a familial gene connection with the brain/spinal cancer known as Chordoma has shed light on a 14 year research conducted by Duke University and the National Cancer Institute. Chordoma is a malignant bone cancer that forms in the skull base (head) and spine. Nearly 300 are affected in the U.S. alone and although it affects men more frequently than women, anyone at any age can be diagnosed with the cancer.
Despite the breakthrough in the research, the new discovery disrupts past known facts on gene related cancer. While most inherited cancer is due to a gene deletion or mutation, the new Chordoma gene is a duplication of a gene known as Brachyury.
Read the full report here.
Get more information on Chordoma by visiting the LIVESTRONG.COM Chordoma Topic Page.
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