Liver cancer genes 'found'

A team from the Duke-National University of Singapore and Khon Kaen University of Thailand says it has used the latest genomic technologies to identify the bile duct cancer (also known as Cholangiocarcinoma) genes, 'Nature Genetics' reports.

"This discovery adds depth to what we currently know about bile duct cancer. More important is that we are now aware of new genes and their effects on bile duct cancer and we now need to further examine their biological aspects to determine how they bring about onset of Cholangiocarcinoma," Prof Teh Bin Tean, who led the team, said.

Using state of the art DNA sequencing platforms, the scientists analysed eight bile duct cancers and normal tissues from Thai patients, and discovered mutations in 187 genes.

The team then selected 15 genes that were frequently mutated for further analysis in an additional 46 cases. Many of these genes, such as MLL3, ROBO2 and GNAS, have not been previously implicated in bile duct cancers. (MORE)