Four new genetic variants linked to bowel cancer have been identified by combining data from three major genome studies. In the hunt for bowel cancer genes, the researchers led by Professor Richard Houlston from the ICR, scoured the genomes of 3,334 bowel cancer patients and 4,628 people without the disease from across the UK. By comparing the genomes of people with and without the disease allowed them to pinpoint a total of seven different one-letter alterations in the genetic code – known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) – where genes involved in the development of bowel cancer were most likely to be found.
To confirm their finding they then looked at an additional 18,095 bowel cancer patients and 20,197 people without bowel cancer. Four of the seven genetic sites were clearly associated with small but significantly raised risk of bowel cancer among the general population, bringing the total number identified to fourteen.
What this means is that a new genetic screening test could accurately identify those patients who are at risk of developing bowel cancer, and allow them to take preventative measures to help reduce that risk.
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