MONDAY, Aug. 2, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Two areas of a gene called PIK3CA are susceptible to a number of mutations found in five forms of brain cancer, says research in the Aug. 1 issue of Cancer Research.
Mutations in the gene occur spontaneously as part of the development of brain tumors, rather than being inherited, according to Dr. Hai Yan, senior scientist of the studies that included researchers from Duke University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Utah.
PIK3CA is part of a family of genes that encode enzymes that modify fatty molecules and direct cells to grow, change shape and move.
"PIK3CA are known to occur in as much as 30 percent of colorectal and gastric cancers and glioblastomas, and they are also present, to a lesser extent, in breast and lung cancer. Our studies defined the association of mutant PIK3CA gene in a wider spectrum of adult and pediatric brain tumors as well," Yan, an assistant professor of pathology at Duke, said in a prepared statement.
Yan and the other scientists identified a cluster of 13 mutations on two specific areas of the PIK3CA gene. Identifying the link between PIK3CA mutations and brain cancer may help in the development of screening and treatment methods.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about brain tumors.
