Scientists find ethnic link to bowel cancer

Published on Monday 31 March 2008 10:18

SCIENTISTS from Edinburgh University have made a significant breakthrough in cancer research in relation to ethnicity.

It has been found that people with the same cancer susceptibility genes respond differently depending on their race.

The researchers have shown that a genetic marker is associated with an increased the risk of colon cancer in Europeans, but not in the Japanese population. This genetic variant was associated with a similar risk of rectal cancer in both populations.

While dietary differences are already known to be important, the find shows for the first time that genetic factors might explain some of the differences in bowel cancer risk between populations.

This is one in a series of Cancer Research UK funded studies searching for bowel cancer susceptibility genes.

Lead author, Cancer Research UK's Professor Malcolm Dunlop of the University of Edinburgh's Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, said: "This is the first time a race-specific effect has been found for a genetic marker.

"It's an important step forward in our knowledge of the causes of bowel cancer, bringing us closer to a genetic test for those at high risk of the disease."