Height gene could help fight cancer

Published on Sunday 6 April 2008 21:58

TREATMENTS for cancer and arthritis could be boosted by new research that has identified 20 sections of genetic code linked to height.

A team of researchers who identified the "height gene" last year studied DNA samples from more than 30,000 people and found the regions of code which make a difference of up to six centimetres in height.

Information they gathered, published in the journal Nature Genetics, gives an insight into how the body grows and may shed light on conditions including osteoarthritis and some cancers.

Team member Dr Tim Frayling, from the Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, said: "The number and variety of genetic regions that we have found show that height is not just caused by a few genes operating in the long bones. Our research implicates genes that could shed light on a whole range of important biological processes.

"By identifying which genes affect normal growth, we can begin to understand the processes that lead to abnormal growth – not just height disorders but also tumour growth, for example."

Height is 90 per cent determined by genes, rather than external factors such as diet.

Some regions of code identified regulate basic cell division, which could be useful for research into cancer, which causes uncontrolled division.

Others are involved in cell-to-cell signalling, which is important in the early development of embryos.

Dr Mike Weedon, lead author of the paper, said: "There may be more than a hundred genes which affect our height, many of which will work in surprising or unpredictable ways. The challenge now for us is to understand how they influence growth in the body. This could open up new avenues for treating a range of diseases."