Clues to cancer genes

LONDON - Cancer and transplant surgery are two areas where a rush of genetic research, prompted by the announcement of the completion of the human genome project, could bring dramatic benefits.

After heart disease, cancer is the biggest killer in Britain. One in three people will develop cancer during their lives and one in five will die as a result.

Cancers are pre-eminently genetic diseases. Throughout life, cells are exposed to chemicals, radiation and viruses which corrode their DNA. This exposure sometimes causes changes that start cells growing and spreading.

The basic "hardwiring" of a cancer is in its DNA. For this reason, scientists are now actively trying to spot the differences between cancerous and normal genomes.

Dr Mike Stratton, head of the Cancer Genome Project in Cambridge, where a third of the human genome was mapped, said as many as 400 to 1000 genes could be involved in cancer.

"Finding these abnormalities can help establish the causes of cancers. Most importantly, they are potential targets for new anti-cancer drugs aimed at the abnormal proteins they code for."