High risk of breast cancer associated with genetic variation in leptin and its receptorFebruary 21, 2006Individuals with either of two genetic variations that lead to high serum levels of the cytokine leptin and to overexpression of leptin in fatty tissue, are more at risk of developing breast cancer than others. A study published today in the open access journal BMC Cancer suggests that individuals with a specific genetic variation (polymorphism) in the gene LEP that encodes for leptin, or a polymorphism in the gene LEPR, encoding for its receptor, have an increased risk of breast cancer. This contradicts previous results that showed no link between the polymorphism in LEPR and the risk of breast cancer. Both polymorphisms could be used as markers to identify people at risk of breast cancer. As they are both associated with a shorter survival time they could potentially serve as predictors of prognosis. Kaouther Snoussi, from the Université de Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia and colleagues from other institutions in Tunisia and Scripps-Florida, USA, matched 308 patients diagnosed with breast carcinoma with 222 healthy individuals who had no personal or family history of cancer and acted as controls. The authors genotyped both patients and control individuals for a specific polymorphism in either LEP or LEPR. Snoussi et al.'s results show that individuals with the LEP polymorphism had a higher risk of developing breast cancer than individuals who do not have it. The risk increased for individuals with two copies of the polymorphism (homozygote) and these people had a threefold higher risk of developing breast cancer than individuals who do not have the polymorphism at all. The frequency of individuals with the LEPR polymorphism was significantly higher in the group of patients than in the group of controls. The LEP polymorphism was also associated with a large tumour size at diagnosis and decreased disease-free survival, while the LEPR polymorphism was associated with a shorter overall survival time. BioMed Central |
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| Related Leptin Current Events and Leptin News Articles Scientists find obesity alone does not cause arthritis in animals The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight. Researchers identify new brain pathway for regulating weight and bone mass Contrary to the prevailing view, the hormone leptin, which is critical for normal food intake and metabolism, appears to regulate bone mass and suppress appetite by acting mainly through serotonin pathways in the brain. Fish fend off invading germs with an initial response similar to the one found in people Since the human response to infection is highly complex, research to understand how people fight infection is facilitated by studying how similar processes occur in simpler organisms. Ice cream may target the brain before your hips, UT Southwestern study suggests Blame your brain for sabotaging your efforts to get back on track after splurging on an extra scoop of ice cream or that second burger during Friday night's football game. New information about how fat increases blood pressure could help identify those at risk Some of the first information about how fat causes hypertension have been identified by researchers who say the findings should one day help identify which obese people - and maybe some thin ones too - are at risk for hypertension and which drugs would work best for them. Caltech researchers pinpoint neurons that control obesity in fruit flies A team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have pinpointed two groups of neurons in fruit fly brains that have the ability to sense and manipulate the fly's fat stores in much the same way as do neurons in the mammalian brain. Scarring key to link between obesity and diabetes The team, in collaboration with University Hospital Aintree, the University of Warwick and researchers in Sweden, found that people classified as obese and those with pre-diabetes have raised levels of a protein called SPARC, that can cause tissue scarring. Obesity increases risk of prostate cancer recurrence for both blacks and whites A new look at a large database of prostate cancer patients shows that obesity plays no favorites when it comes to increasing the risk of recurrence after surgery: Being way overweight is equally bad for blacks and whites, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Study further expands understanding of leptin's role in brain neurocircuitry In investigating the complex neurocircuitry behind weight gain and glucose control, scientists have known that the hormone leptin plays a key role in the process. Sleep may be factor in weight control Could sleep be a critical component to maintaining a healthy body weight? More Leptin Current Events and Leptin News Articles |
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