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Monday, December 09, 2002They began by comparing 64 primary tumors with 12 other unrelated cancers that had spread. The metastasized cancers contained 128 specific DNA mutations that the primary tumors did not. But the scientists noticed another peculiar fact: Some of the simple tumors already contained the 128 specific mutations. Could these tumors be predisposed to spread, they wondered. Next, the team looked at 62 lung cancers, many of which contained the 128 mutations. They found the patients who had the mutations had cancers that were more likely to spread. Careful study of the data revealed that they only needed to identify 17 specific gene mutations among the 128 to predict a cancer that would spread. The team then tested more than 200 tumors: breast cancers, prostate cancers, brain cancers, and others. The pattern held: Patients whose tumors had the 17 mutations fared worse. ''We had no reason to believe it was this broadly applicable,'' Ramaswamy said. Large-scale tests on thousands of tumors, now underway, must support these results before doctors consider applying them on patients. posted by Sydney on 12/09/2002 06:25:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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