A paper published in this week’s Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals the discovery of a new gene that may play a role in breast cancer. Molecular biologists Hava Avrahman and Sheila Licht say the new gene, CHK, is “off” in normal breast tissue and in benign abnormalities but turns on when breast tissues becomes cancerous. Dr. Jerome Groopman, another researcher on the study, said this discovery suggests that CHK is “part of breast defense against cancer.” Any hereditary nature of the gene is not known.
Stanford University researchers have announced in the journal Cell that they have found a tumor suppressor gene called TSG101 which is absent from cancerous tissue in late-stage breast cancer patients but is present in non-cancerous tissue from the same patients.
