Scientists discover genetic risk factors for most common brain cancer

For the first time, researchers have identified genetic variants commonly found in the population that can increase an individual's risk of developing glioma, the most prevalent brain tumour.

The findings published in the journal Nature Genetics said that scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research in the UK, The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Centre in the US and elsewhere in Europe collaboratively studied the DNA sequences of thousands of people and found five genetic factors that were more common among people who had glioma.

"This is a major discovery," commented article author and lead researcher Professor Richard Houlston, from the ICR and funded by the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK. "We've found the first real evidence that variations in the genes which many people carry can increase their risk of this deadly disease, glioma."

People who have a relative diagnosed with brain cancer are twice as likely to be diagnosed with a brain tumour themselves. Researchers have previously identified a few rare genetic disorders that increase the risk of brain tumour - but these can only explain a small part of the inherited risk.

Genetic research over recent years has increasingly revealed that most cancers are not triggered by one or two genetic mutations, but instead the involvement of many genetic factors that each slightly increase the risk of cancer.

The scientists theorised that most of the genetic risks of brain tumours were likely due to inheriting several low-risk variants. Professor Houlston and his team compared the DNA of 1,878 glioma patients with 3,670 healthy individuals in the UK and US.