New gene mutation linked to pancreatic cancer

According to a new study published in the journal of the American Association for Cancer research, a mutation in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene may increase the hereditary risk for pancreatic cancer. Among the leading causes of cancer related deaths, pancreatic cancer has a survival rate below 5 percent after 5 years. In two kindred with familial pancreatic cancer, lead author Alison Klein, Ph.D., identified ATM gene mutations. After examining the results, researchers found that ATM mutations were present in four of 166 subjects with pancreatic cancer; the mutation was not present in 190 spousal control subsets. According to Alison Klein, these results may innovate the screening test for pancreatic cancer, even though there are no standard screen tests in practice.

SOURCE: American Association for Cancer Research