Gene variant influences brain cancer risk

Researchers in France have found a gene variant that may increase a person's risk of developing a brain tumour at a young age. The study was published last week in the journal Neurology by a team of researchers led by Dr Marc Sanson.

The study included 254 people with brain tumours and 238 people without cancer. All the patients with tumours had glioblastoma multiforme, which is the most common type of brain cancer. People with this type of tumour survive an average of 12 to 15 months.

The researchers studied the tumour suppressor gene TP53 using blood samples. They found that people under 45 years old with brain tumours were more likely to have a variant of the gene called Pro/Pro, compared to older people with brain tumours or healthy participants. A total of 20.6 per cent of the younger people with brain tumours had the Pro/Pro variant, compared to 6.4 percent of the older people with brain tumours and 5.9 percent of the healthy participants.

In a news release, Dr Sanson, of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) said, 'Eventually we may be able to use this knowledge to help identify people who have a higher risk of developing brain tumours at an early age. However the risk of this population remains low, even multiplied by three or four as shown here, because these brain tumours (glioblastomas) are infrequent in young people'.