A study carried out by researchers at the University of San Diego (USA) hypothesizes that advanced cancers in humans, even in the absence of known risk factors, could be directly linked to evolution and more precisely to the mutation of a gene.
- A mutation of the Siglec-12 gene, present in some humans, could explain the high risk of cancer.
- The study shows that 30% of people producing Siglec-12 proteins have more than twice the risk of developing advanced cancer during their lifetime.
According to this research published in FASEB BioAdvances, evolution could be (at least partly) responsible for this high frequency of cancers. In question: the Siglec-12 gene, and more precisely the Siglec-12 protein. This gene, which once allowed the body to identify invading microbes, has undergone a mutation which has the effect of eliminating this function of the immune system, explain the authors of the study.
While around two-thirds of the world’s human population has ceased to produce the Siglec-12 protein, the gene is still present in some individuals, but very few follow-up studies have been performed over the past two decades.
After analysis of normal and cancerous human tissue samples, San Diego researchers found that the roughly 30% of people who still produce Siglec-12 proteins are more than twice as likely to develop advanced cancer over the course of of their lives, compared to people who cannot produce Siglec-12.
A urine test to detect the Siglec-12 protein
By looking at a different population of patients with advanced colorectal cancer, the researchers found that more than 80% of participants had a functional form of the Siglec-12 gene, and the latter had a less satisfactory outcome than the minority. of patients in whom the Siglec-12 gene was not active.
According to the authors of the work, this is important information insofar as it could be exploited for future diagnoses and treatments. In particular, the team has developed a urine test that could be used to detect the presence of this dysfunctional protein.
“We may also be able to use antibodies against Siglec-12 to selectively deliver chemotherapies to tumor cells that carry the dysfunctional protein, without harming non-cancerous cells”say the scientists.
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