Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, and it wouldn't take a long time before they reach no.1 regardless of where you live. Although they can affect basically anyone, older people are at a higher risk of getting sick. Worse, they usually have a very low survival rate.
Thus, the discovery of a "pre-cancer" gene may spell a huge difference as it may lead to early detection and even prevention.
In a new study performed by researchers from MIT's Broad Institute and organizations that are affiliated to Harvard, they found out that certain types of genes that may mutate to become cancers of the blood and lymphoma are present in both young and older adults. However, while there are rare among people who are 40 years old and below, they are in significant amount for those who are at least 65 years old.
They have come up with these findings after they have studied and decoded the genes of around 30,000 different types of people.
Although until now no one can really figure out how people develop cancer, scientists have already realized that the answer may be in the genes, especially in how they evolve or mutate. For example, people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are at a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
In this study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, having the said genes doesn't have to immediately mean that they will have cancer. However, their chances of developing one increase to about 10 times than that of a person without the said pre-cancer genes, and these mutations may not be inherited. Rather, they are a product of the many changes genes go through over a person's lifetime.
Researchers are hoping to move on to the next step, which is learning the time when these genes mutate.