Researchers Identify 'Haul' of New Genetic Markers for Cancer Risks

What is being hailed as major news in the genetic science community this week -- the identification of more than 80 genomes that raise a person's risk of different cancers -- may receive a lukewarm reception from the general public until the ramifications of such discoveries is evident.

Collaborative Oncological Gene-Environment Study, COGS

Learning the causes of cancer can only mean positive things in the development of screening, treatment, and perhaps, one day, prevention of those cancers. A consortium of more than 160 EU-based research groups working together in the Collaborative Oncological Gene-Environment Study, COGS, brought science and medicine one step closer to these positive outcomes with the discovery of more than 80 genome regions that can increase an individual's risk for prostate, breast and ovarian cancers, reported MedicalNewsToday.com .

The COGS research was submitted as 13 different scientific papers and published in five journals this week, including PLOS Genetics . (PLOS is the Public Library of Science , a non-profit and open access

group of scientific journals.)

COGS Research Team Members Weigh in on Genome Discovery Value

These discoveries, while important and providing potential for screening and treatment, represent 40 percent of the total genetic risk factors for the three types of cancer, according to the Telegraph . Even so, the discoveries are a "significant step forward" toward understanding inherited risk factors for breast, prostate and ovarian cancers.

Professor Ros Eeles of the Royal Marsden and the Institute of Cancer Research explained to the Telegraph that this discovery is hoped to leading to simple saliva testing for these risk factors that primary care physicians will be able to interpret within the next five years.

The researchers caution that although the discovery of these genomes is important, there is more work to be done, first in research, then in application of the findings.

Understanding the Genetic Science Hoopla Over New Genome Discoveries

To the layman, the science behind genetic discovery and its uses is mystifying until the scientific terms and methods are broken down into concepts that are readily understandable: The discovery of these genomes associated with increased cancer risks in individuals may lead to simplified genetic testing for those risks within the next five years and potentially new therapies to thwart those cancers.

Breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society , led to more than 39,000 deaths in 2011, most of those in women age 50 years and older. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 14,000 women died from ovarian cancer in 2009. The National Cancer Institute estimates that prostate cancer will lead to the deaths of nearly 30,000 men this year.

When improved genetic screening is available to identify the increased risks for these cancer types, imagine the possibilities of increased life spans and hope for thousands of men and women.

Smack dab in the middle of the baby boomer generation, L.L. Woodard is a proud resident of "The Red Man" state. With what he hopes is an everyman's view of life's concerns both in his state and throughout the nation, Woodard presents facts and opinions based on common-sense solutions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/researchers-identify-haul-genetic-markers-cancer-risks-191600999.html

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