Connection Among ATM Gene, Radiation, And Breast Cancer Sought.

2001 NOV 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Transgenomic, Inc. announced that the Virginia Mason-Research Center (VMRC) has upgraded to a WAVE System 3500HT for genetic analysis to identify mutations that cause breast cancer.

Researchers at VMRC are participating in an international multi-center study designed to identify mutations in the ATM gene that increase susceptibility to breast cancer. Researchers at VMRC are participating in the WECARE Project, or Women's Environment, Cancer and Radiation Exposure, which is designed to examine the interaction of radiation exposure, the ATM gene and breast cancer. The objective of the study is to determine whether women who are ATM gene carriers and who have received radiation therapy to treat a tumor in one breast are at especially high risk of developing cancer in the other breast.

Researchers at 15 labs worldwide plan to screen genomic DNA for ATM mutations in 700 women with bilateral (involvement of both breasts) breast cancer and 1,400 women with unilateral (single breast involvement) breast cancer in the U.S. and Denmark. One of four labs responsible for screening the DNA samples, the VMRC genetics lab has used WAVE Systems since 1998. All four labs in the study are currently using the WAVE System to ensure uniform methodology and speed the completion of the study.

"Since the frequency of ATM carriers is thought to be about 1% of the general population, there is potential that mutations in the ATM gene could be a significant factor increasing susceptibility to breast cancer. There is also evidence that cancer patients who are ATM heterozygotes (mutated in one allele of ATM) are slightly sensitive to radiation therapy. The purpose of this study is to determine the connection between the ATM gene and breast cancer," said Sharon Teraoka, PhD, staff scientist, Virginia Mason Research Center. "ATM is a very large gene with many different reported mutations. As a result, it is very difficult to characterize. The upgrade to the WAVE System 3500HT has been significant because it has enabled us to screen samples twice as fast with the same high accuracy and sensitivity we and the rest of the Consortium have come to expect from the WAVE System."

The WAVE System analyzes DNA samples for both known and unknown genetic mutations with greater sensitivity, accuracy, speed and cost-effectiveness than other techniques. Understanding variations in the genetic code is the vital link to the development of new medical diagnostic and therapeutic products. While individual traits, such as hair and eye color, are determined by normal genetic variations, abnormal variations or mutations can create disease states such as cancer or hereditary cystic fibrosis. By comparing mutations in the genome to the occurrence of diseases or particular traits, correlation can be made between genes and specific diseases or traits.

Establishing which genetic variations are normal and which can lead to diseases such as cancer requires screening samples from hundreds or thousands of individuals. Screening at this level requires a high accuracy, high throughput and economical technology. With upgrades including an integrated accelerator and dual plate auto sampler, the WAVE System 3500HT reduces cycle time from nearly eight minutes to less than four minutes per sample. This results in a significant increase in sample throughput.

The incidence of ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) has been estimated at 1 in 40,000-100,000 live births, while the gene frequency is believed to ...