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- Posted Tuesday September 28, 2010
TGen-Mayo Clinic-Arizona Cancer Center study finds gene associated with aggressive skin cancer
Loss of the gene INPP5A occurs even in earliest stage of SCC
disease
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Sept. 28, 2010 - The loss of a gene known as
INPP5A could predict the onset, and track the progression, of an
aggressive type of skin cancer, according to a study published
today by the Arizona Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic and the
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
Targeting INPP5A could provide physicians with better ways to
prevent and treat cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, or SCC, a skin
cancer that often spreads to other parts of the body, according to
a scientific paper published today in the journal Cancer Prevention
Research.
"Loss of INPP5A can be detected in most primary SCC tumors and even
in actinic keratoses, or AK, the earliest stage in SCC
development," said Aleksandar Sekulic, M.D., Ph.D., an Assistant
Professor of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and the study's
lead author. "Importantly, further reduction of INPP5A was detected
as a subset of SCC tumors progressed from primary to metastatic
stage."
More than 1 million non-melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed
annually in the U.S., making these the most common type of cancer
and the fifth most costly cancer type in the Medicare population,
those Americans age 65 and older. The vast majority of non-melanoma
skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma and SCC.
"At present, our ability to assess who is at risk for SCC and our
ability to treat the disease, especially in its aggressive forms,
is clearly inadequate," said Dr. Jeffrey Trent, President and
Research Director of TGen and one of the study's authors. "Without
question, additional investigations into INPP5A are warranted.
Studies like this are critical if we are to ever get a handle on
this all-too-common type of skin cancer."
The study used TGen's advanced genomic technologies to analyze 40
skin tissue samples that ranged from normal skin to highly invasive
SCC. Specifically, researchers used a technique called
high-resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization to
identify genetic deletions in a portion of DNA that normally
harbors the INPP5A gene.
INPP5A, or inositol polyphosphate-5-phosphatase, interacts within
the chemical pathways of cells to limit their proliferation,
suggesting that this gene may play a key role as a tumor
suppressor. In other studies, the loss of genetic material in the
chromosome that includes INPP5A has been associated with brain
tumors and leukemias.
Genetic mutations contribute to the development and progression of
cancer by either stimulating cells to multiply too rapidly, or
interfering with normal processes that allow them to die off,
according to the paper, Loss of Inositol
Polyphosphate-5-Phosphatase is an Early Event in Development of
Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
"Understanding the precise mechanisms of INPP5A loss, and exploring
the connection between INPP5A and uncontrolled cellular
proliferation, could provide us with new insights," said Dr.
Michael Bittner, Co-Director of TGen's Computational Biology
Division, and the study's senior author. "Continuing studies could
lead to new drug targets that could contribute to better treatments
for patients with SCC, and some day perhaps even help prevent this
type of skin cancer."
Tissue samples and research collaborations for the study were
provided by: the University of Arizona's Arizona Cancer Center in
Tucson; the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System in
Tucson; Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago; and Mayo
Clinic.
Dr. David S. Alberts, Director of the Arizona Cancer Center, is the
Principal Investigator for a cancer prevention grant from the
National Institutes of Health, which provided the main funding for
the study.
"Observed deletions in INPP5A represents a highly selected,
non-random genetic event in SCC, giving researchers confidence that
this is a biomarker with great potential for clinical study and
patient benefit," said Dr. Alberts, another author of the paper and
a Regents Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, Nutritional Science
and Public Health at the University of Arizona College of
Medicine.
Cancer Prevention Research is one of six peer-reviewed scientific
journals published by the Philadelphia-based American Association
for Cancer Research, founded in 1907, the world's oldest and
largest scientific organization focused on high-quality, innovative
cancer research.
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About the Arizona Cancer Center
The Arizona Cancer Center is one of 40 centers in the nation
designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive
Cancer Center, the NCI's highest ranking. That designation is
reserved for centers focusing on patient care as well as basic and
clinical research, prevention, education, outreach and training.
With primary locations at the University of Arizona in Tucson, the
Arizona Cancer Center has more than a dozen research and education
offices in Phoenix and throughout the state and 300 physician and
scientist members working together to prevent and cure cancer. For
more information, go to www.arizonacancercenter.org.
Press Contact:
Sara Hammond
Director of the Office of Public Affairs
(520) 626-2277
[email protected]
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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit
group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty
work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a
philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than
3,700 physicians, scientists and researchers, and 50,100 allied
health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has campuses in Rochester,
Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.; and
community-based providers in more than 70 locations in southern
Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northeast Iowa. These locations
treat more than half a million people each year. Mayo Clinic Cancer
Center is one of 40 U.S. medical centers that have been named as a
National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center and the
only national, multi-site center with the designation. To obtain
the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to
www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and
education, visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com)
is available as a resource for your health stories.
Press Contact:
Jim McVeigh
Mayo Clinic Public Affairs
480-301-4222
[email protected]
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About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix,
Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at
TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer,
neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is affiliated
with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
For more information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
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