Prémio da «No Stomach for Cancer» atribuído em Portugal

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Prémio da «No Stomach for Cancer» atribuído em Portugal

Friday, 20.06.2014

A associação de doentes «No Stomach for Cancer» premiou com 50 mil dólares um projecto conjunto da investigadora do Ipatimup Carla Oliveira e de David Huntsman, do British Columbia Cancer Agency, no Canadá.

«Trata-se de um projecto unificador porque contactámos grande parte dos investigadores de todo o mundo desta área e convidámo-los a participar com famílias sem causa hereditária conhecida. Mais de 20 grupos de investigação colaboraram e obtivemos cerca de 500 famílias de todo o mundo», explica Carla Oliveira, líder do grupo de investigação Regulação da Expressão em Cancro, que procura identificar alterações genéticas do cancro de estômago familiar.

O objectivo da associação, que pela primeira vez atribuiu um prémio deste valor, era financiar um projecto de investigação com potencial para melhorar a vida das pessoas afectadas pelo cancro do estômago. Os avaliadores escolheram o projecto apresentado por Carla Oliveira e David Huntsman, em parceria com o International Gastric Cancer Linkage Consortium (IGCLC), designado «Defining the Contribution of Mutations in CDHI Non-Coding Regions and Other Known Susceptibility Genes to Hereditary Gastric Cancer».

A associação de doentes «No Stomach for Cancer» dedica-se a apoiar investigação científica inovadora que promova a compreensão do cancro gástrico e melhore a detecção, o tratamento e a qualidade de vida de pacientes com cancro do estômago.

 

Lay Abstract:

Familial stomach cancer is a rare condition that can result in aggressive cancers of the stomach and breast across several generations of a family. A genetic test in an important gene (E-cadherin/CDH1) is available for some of these families to see if they are at an increased risk of developing stomach cancer. This may help unaffected family members decide on the need for cancer preventive surgery. Unfortunately, this test is only beneficial for less than half of families and the genetic cause of remaining cases is not known.

In order to help the families in which the genetic test does not predict cancer risk, this study will apply cutting-edge DNA sequencing technologies to test the DNA from over 500 families from around the world for whom there is no known cause of cancer aggregation. Our group has developed two approaches for finding new genetic risk factors for this disease, which we have previously demonstrated to be useful and more efficient as compared to conventional genetic testing. The first approach involves testing other genes that our group recently discovered as likely causes of stomach cancer in some families. The second involves looking more closely within the Ecadherin/ CDH1 gene, in regions not previously thought to be important in causing this cancer. Our group has new evidence to suggest that changes in these regions may increase cancer risk and thus, should be included in future screening for the disease.

Our hope is that by uncovering new causes of familial stomach cancer, we can extend the range of genetic testing offered to families with this condition. This will help minimize the uncertainty in their diagnoses and help them make informed decisions about their care. Overall, this project will increase our genetic and clinical understanding of all forms of stomach cancer.