|  |  |  | | | | Study reveals genetic links to CLL | | | | |
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Release Date: 25 Sep 2008
Leukaemia Research funded scientists led by Professor Richard Houlston at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton have now shown that there is a genetic susceptibility to developing chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most common form of leukaemia in the Western World.
Although it was already known that relatives of patients with CLL are more likely to develop the disease, scientists were unable to find a genetic link.
For many cancers such as breast cancer, there is a single major disease-risk gene - but no such gene exists for CLL. The research has identified that variations in certain areas of genes do play a part in the increasing the likelihood of developing CLL and was published in the prestigious academic journal Nature Genetics in September.
Professor Houlston compared DNA from CLL patients with DNA from a healthy group. They found that variations in six areas within a gene are strongly associated with the development of CLL.
Professor Houlston explained: “This research provides strong evidence that CLL, in at least some cases, is caused by a combination of inherited genetic variations. Each of these variations, by itself, has a very small effect on the risk of developing CLL, but when all of them are present there is a significantly increased risk of leukaemia.“
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