© 2003 by Oxford University Press
© 2003 Oxford University Press
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In Brief
Researchers Identify Cause of Gene Therapy-Induced Leukemia
Researchers have determined why two children with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1) developed a leukemia-like syndrome nearly 3 years after being treated with gene therapy. The children were 2 of 10 patients in a clinical trial in France.
A known risk of gene therapy is insertional mutagenesis, or the insertion of a retroviral vector, which could activate a proto-oncogene or inactivate a tumor suppressor gene, leading to cancer. Salima Hacein-Bey-Abina, Ph.D., of the Laboratoire INSERM in France, reported that, in the two children, the retrovirus inserted the corrected gene near the promoter region of the LMO2 oncogene. Activation of this gene led to the uncontrollable proliferation of mature T cells. Both patients have received conventional leukemia treatments and are in clinical remission.
The report was published in the October 17 issue of Science.
See also News, Vol. 95, No. 14, p. 1032, "For Gene Therapy, Now-Quantified Risks Are Deemed Troubling."
Study Backs 3-Year Interval for Cervical Cancer Screening
Lengthening the cervical cancer screening interval to 3 years is associated with a low risk of cervical cancer, according to a new study.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended that screening for cervical cancer be performed every 3 years rather than every year. However, the actual risk of cervical cancer associated with less frequent screening has not been determined.
George F. Sawaya, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and his colleagues examined the rates of cervical cancer among 938,576 women under the age of 65. They estimated that lengthening the screening interval to 3 years for women who have had at least three previous negative Pap tests was associated with an excess cervical cancer risk of less than 3 in 100,000 women.
The study appeared in the October 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
See also News, Vol. 95, No. 6, p. 424, "Guidelines Recommend Less Frequent Screening Interval for Cervical Cancer."
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Associated With Lower Risk of Breast Cancer
A new study suggests that cholesterol-lowering drugs may be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in older women.
Jane A. Cauley, Dr.P.H., of the University of Pittsburgh, and her colleagues studied the association between use of lipid-lowering agents, including statins and nonstatin drugs, and risk of breast cancer among 7,528 women age 65 and older who had participated in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.
After an average follow-up of 6.8 years, women who used any cholesterol-lowering drug had a 68% reduction in risk of breast cancer compared with women who did not use cholesterol-lowering drugs. Use of statins appeared to be associated with a greater protection against breast cancer than use of other lipid-lowering drugs. The findings appeared in the October issue of the Journal of Women’s Health.
See also News, Vol. 95, No. 12, p. 844, "Of Cancer and Cholesterol: Studies Elucidate Anticancer Mechanisms of Statins."
Task Forces Issue Recommendations for Preventing Skin Cancer
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Task Force on Community Prevention Services have issued recommendations for the prevention of skin cancer.
The recommendations, published in the October 17 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, concluded that there is sufficient evidence to support educational and policy approaches in primary schools (e.g., getting children to wear protective clothing), and in recreational or tourism settings (e.g., getting adults to wear protective clothing).
However, the task forces did not find sufficient evidence to make recommendations for or against educational and policy approaches in child care centers, secondary schools and colleges, tourism settings for children, and occupational settings.
In addition, the USPSTF found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine counseling by primary care clinicians to prevent skin cancer. They said that counseling parents may increase the use of sunscreen for children, but there is little evidence to support counseling on other preventive behaviors, such as wearing protective clothing and reducing sun exposure.
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