Reduced risk of cancer... but there's a Down side to it.

[dekoyl]

Excuse my title.

http://www.disaboom.com/Blogs/saydrah/archive/2009/05/21/people-with-down-syndrome-rarely-get-cancer-scientists-discover-one-reason-why.aspx

You won't find "reduced risk of cancer" on most lists of the effects of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), but scientists have long known that people with the condition rarely get most types of cancer. Now, a Harvard study has identified one of the factors that protects people with Down Syndrome against tumors. The discovery could lead to new methods of protecting all patients against cancer.

 People with Down Syndrome have extra versions of 238 different genes due to their third copy of human chromosome 21. The extra chromosome is also responsible for the more well-known aspects of the condition, including developmental disability.

One of the 238 genes found in the third chromosome 21 is called Down syndrome candidate region-1 (DSCR1, also known as RCAN1). This gene, Harvard researchers found, affects angiogenesis-- the process by which tumors grow blood cells to nourish themselves. Specifically, DSCR1 codes for a protein that suppresses vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF — one of the compounds necessary for angiogenesis. DSCR1 also affects calcineurin, a biological compound often studied by cancer researchers.

By studying induced pluripotent stem cells from a volunteers with Down Syndrome, as well as mice genetically altered to have a condition similar to Down Syndrome,  Harvard University's Sandra Ryeom and colleagues discovered DSCR1's affect on tumor growth. The study also points to another gene, DYRK1A, which is implicated in tumor suppression in individuals with Down Syndrome.

[shinny]

+1 for puntastic title. Should point out that angiogenesis only affects the progression of a benign tumour to a malignant one, so it technically doesn't reduce the risk of cancer specifically, just malignant ones.

[TrueLight]

very interesting, at least there might be an upside to down's syndrome...... it kinda relates to the story if anyone heard on the news... about this drug that supresses angiogenesis in tumours and it costs like 40k a year in australia but is under pbs around the world....ill try find it... ah i think its avastin

Action of Avastin:
Avastin is a new class of therapy known as an angiogenesis inhibitor, which targets tumour angiogenesis (the growth of a network of blood vessels that supply nutrients and oxygen to cancerous tissues).

This therapy uses a vastly different mode of action to chemotherapy. While chemotherapy targets the tumour itself, Avastin targets a naturally occurring protein called VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor), which is a key mediator for angiogenesis. Tumours release VEGF when they reach a certain size and in order to grow further they need their own blood supply. By inhibiting VEDG, Avastin essentially starves the tumour, thus slowing and in some instances reducing the growth of the tumour.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24443246-661,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24782567-5017909,00.html