Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Genetic Research / 26.02.2018
Genetic Variant of p53 Associated With Poor Breast Cancer Survival
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Maureen E. Murphy, Ph.D.
Program Leader and Professor
Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis and
Subhasree Basu PhD
Postdoctoral researcher
The Wistar Institute
Philadelphia, PA 19104
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Unlike most other genes that are intimately involved in the cause of cancer, the p53 gene displays considerable genetic variation; in other words, p53 is unusual among cancer genes in that the amino acids in p53 protein can frequently differ amongst different populations and ethnic groups. Additionally, unlike most other tumor suppressor genes, when p53 is mutated in a tumor, as it is in 50% of human cancers, that mutant protein now has a positive function in cancer progression, changing tumor metabolism and promoting tumor metastasis.
In this study, the authors analyze for the first time the impact of a common genetic variant in p53 (single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP) in the ability of mutant p53 to promote tumor metabolism and metastasis, and they find significant differences. (more…)