Italians discover rare cancer gene

by S. C.

Italian researchers announced they had identified the gene responsible for a rare form of glandular cancer.

The Padua-based scientist published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics, had taken three years before researchers were able to say with certainty that the Tmem 127 gene was the culprit behind Adrenal tumors.

This study validates the power of hereditary tumors to illustrate how tumors start and spread. The next step is to understand how Tmem 127 works and why it causes cancerous cell formation, a discovery which could point the way to genetic treatment for more common and deadlier forms of the disease.

Approximately 1 out of a million people worldwide develop adrenal cancer. Photo: A digital rendering of a metastasizing tumor.