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Link Between Poverty And Breast Cancer

Link Between Poverty And Breast Cancer

Smoking, drinking and poor diet can contribute to p53 mutations

Glasgow Herald

February 16, 2010

Researchers from Dundee University have established a link between deprivation and a specific gene that explains why women from poorer backgrounds are less likely to survive breast cancer.

In a paper published in this month’s British Journal of Cancer, the Dundee team identifies – for the first time – that the p53 gene mutation in breast cancer is associated with socio-economic deprivation, and that this helps account for the poorer prognosis for women from deprived communities.

Deprivation has long been known to play a role in the development of diseases and to cause a higher risk of recurrence or death for patients diagnosed with a number of cancers, including breast cancer.

The reasons for survival rates differing between breast cancer sufferers from poorer areas and from more affluent areas – the deprivation gap – has never been fully understood. Initiating this study, Dr Lee Baker, of the Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology, suggested examining the p53 gene as a candidate molecular marker that might account for these biological differences.

What the team found was that women from deprived backgrounds were more likely to experience a mutation of p53, and that this linked to higher relapse and mortality rates.

“There are two ways that p53 mutations can come about,” said Dr Baker. "One is as a result of genetic predisposition, and the other is as a result of lifestyle. Smoking, drinking, poor diet, etc can lead to p53 mutations and are more common in women from lower socio- economic groups, who are also more likely to experience a recurrence of the disease and to die from breast cancer.

“In terms of science, it shows that successfully creating a treatment for p53 mutation will go a long way to finding a cure for this form of breast cancer.”

P53 is a tumor suppressor protein that is involved in preventing cancer. In healthy humans, the p53 protein is continually produced and degraded in the cell but if the gene becomes damaged then tumor suppression is reduced.

The survey looked at a total of 246 women who underwent treatment for breast cancer between 1997 and 2001.

Around 46,000 people across the UK – 4,000 in Scotland – are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.

Marina Dalglish, wife of Scottish football legend Kenny Dalglish, battled back from breast cancer before raising pound(s)1.5 million to build a chemotherapy centre in Liverpool.

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

© 2010 Herald, The; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

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