Faulty colon cancer gene traced back to one family from ‘Pilgrim Fathers’
Pilgrim Fathers landing in US (Courtesy Mary Evans Online)
I came across this very interesting article in Clinical Gatroenterology and Hepatology.
Researchers from the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at The University of Utah, led by Dr Deborah Neklason, believe they may have found that a mutation of a gene carried by many Americans alive today can be traced to a common ancestor. This gene is probably responsible for a significant percentage of colorectal cancers in the US. The ancestors are a married couple who came over to the US from England in 1630.
The Utah family investigated by Neklason and colleagues comprised 7,000 members spanning 9 generations. Their records were in the Utah Population Database (UPDB) a public research resource held at HIC. The data helped the researchers find families with a higher than usual incidence of cancer, trace particular gene mutations and analyze patterns of genetic inheritance.
The gene mutation causes a condition called AFAP, attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis. With preventative care and screening, the chances of developing colon cancer can be significantly reduced for individuals with this gene. Without it they have a higher than 2 in 3 chance of getting cancer by the age of 80, which compares with 1 in 24 for the general population.
The Pilgrim Fathers were early settlers who came to America from England and the Netherlands so they could practise their non conformist religious beliefs away from the rather stormy political environment of early 17th Century England.
They established a colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, the second successful English settlement in America, the first being in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Their story is a central theme in the history of the United States.
For more scientific information, click on the following abstract:
http://www.cghjournal.org/article/PIIS1542356507009184/abstract
Elaine Warburton
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POSTED IN: Colon Cancer, DNA, DNA profiling, Genealogy and DNA, General Genetics and Health, Genetic Testing, Genetics of Disease, Population genetics, cancer
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