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基因标记可以帮助监测肺癌的扩散
http://www.100md.com 2001年4月8日 三九健康网
     【摘要】日本的一项研究,研究者发现某种基因标记可以成为以后监测何种类型的肺癌在体内扩散转移性最强的指针。【全文】Gene marker could help detect lung cancer spreadNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters Health) - Japanese researchers have found a gene that could one day be used to determine whether the most common type of lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body.Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of the roughly 164,000 cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the US each year, according to the American Cancer Society. One in four patients with stage I (early) NSCLC wind up dying from tumors that recur even after surgery has removed all detectable tumor tissue. In these cases, cancer cells have spread beyond the lung through either the lymphatic system or the blood. Standard microscopic examination of lymph nodes removed during surgery does not pick up the tiny so-called "micrometastases" that would indicate early on that the cancer had spread. Faced with that challenge, researchers have begun looking for genes expressed only in certain types of cancer, which offer the possibility of detecting cancer spread very early.Researchers led by Kyoko Iwao of Osaka University found that a gene dubbed lung-specific X protein (LUNX) was expressed in 100% of 35 tissue samples from patients with NSCLC. The gene could not be found in any of the 16 normal lymph nodes examined. However, 80% of lymph nodes found by microscopic examination to contain cancer cells also expressed LUNX, according to the authors. Lymph nodes identified as cancer-negative by microscopic exam were much less likely to express LUNX; with 25% showing evidence of LUNX expression. The researchers write that their results suggest the gene "might be a good molecular marker for detecting and monitoring the spread of cancer cells in lymph nodes of patients with NSCLC." "Although the functional role of LUNX protein is not known," they note, "our results suggest that it may be associated with cancer progression." Lung cancer remains the leading cancer killer of both men and women, according to the American Cancer Society.Source: International Journal of Cancer 2001:91, 433-437., http://www.100md.com


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