Genetics and Health

NOTCH1 and JAG1 Genes Linked To Breast Cancer

by Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD on September 18th, 2005

In a study of tumor samples from 184 breast cancer patients with different prognoses, expression levels of the NOTCH1 and JAG1 genes appeared to predict their outcome. Higher levels of NOTCH1 and JAG1 gene expression were correlated with lower survival rates.

• Patients with high levels of JAG1 had a five-year survival rate of 42% and an average survival of 50 months.
• Patients with low levels of JAG1 had a five-year survival rate of 65% and an average survival of 83 months.
• Patients with high levels of NOTCH1 had a five-year survival rate of 49% and an average survival of 53 months.
• Patients with low levels of NOTCH1 had a five-year survival rate of 64% and an average survival of 91 months.
• Patients with combined high levels of JAG1 and NOTCH1 had a significantly reduced five-year survival rate of 34% and an average survival of 43 months.

NOTCH1 and JAG1 are players in the Notch signaling pathway, which is normally involved in cell communication, division, differentiation, survival, and self-renewal. The scientists’ work suggests that the NOTCH pathway may be overactive in some aggressive breast cancers.

Screening for NOTCH1 and JAG1 could help physicians determine the best course of treatment for patients, which includes drugs already in development that interfere with the NOTCH pathway.

myDNA.com, September 16, 2005
Cancer Research, September 15, 2005

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POSTED IN: Genetics of Disease