Isolating Mutated Gene Spurs Hope In The Battle Against Cancer

A defective gene has been isolated that some experts suggest could be “the medical equivalent of the Rosetta stone” in solving the puzzles of cancer.

By studying the effects of the gene, researchers hope to learn what goes wrong, on a molecular level, in cancer, scientists said Thursday at the National Institutes of Health.

“Because a mutation in this gene affects the nervous system, also the immune system and susceptibility to cancer, it has broad implications in advancing our understanding of the fundamental process of life,” said Zach W. Hall, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, one of the NIH agencies.

In a study to be published today in the journal Science, an international team of researchers reports on the decade-long search for the mutated gene that causes ataxia-telangiectasia, or AT. A group led by Yoshef Shiloh of Tel Aviv University in Israel is credited with the actual discovery, but 30 researchers are named as co-authors.

Shiloh, who has studied AT for 18 years, said finding the gene offers the first real hope for treatment of the devastating disease. It also offers a new approach to learning how cells divide, grow, correct genetic errors and die. The AT gene is thought to be involved in each of those processes, he said.

In an analysis of the discovery, Rachel Nowak of Science said the gene is “the medical equivalent of the Rosetta stone.” Just as the Rosetta stone helped scientists decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, she said, the AT gene may allow researchers to decipher how cells work on a molecular level.