People with Down Syndrome Rarely Get Cancer; Scientists Discover One Reason Why

You won't find "reduced risk of cancer" on most lists of the effects of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), but scientists have long known that people with the condition rarely get most types of cancer. Now, a Harvard study has identified one of the factors that protects people with Down Syndrome against tumors. The discovery could lead to new methods of protecting all patients against cancer.

 People with Down Syndrome have extra versions of 238 different genes due to their third copy of human chromosome 21. The extra chromosome is also responsible for the more well-known aspects of the condition, including developmental disability.

One of the 238 genes found in the third chromosome 21 is called Down syndrome candidate region-1 (DSCR1, also known as RCAN1). This gene, Harvard researchers found, affects angiogenesis-- the process by which tumors grow blood cells to nourish themselves. Specifically, DSCR1 codes for a protein that suppresses vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF — one of the compounds necessary for angiogenesis. DSCR1 also affects calcineurin, a biological compound often studied by cancer researchers.

By studying induced pluripotent stem cells from a volunteers with Down Syndrome, as well as mice genetically altered to have a condition similar to Down Syndrome,  Harvard University's Sandra Ryeom and colleagues discovered DSCR1's affect on tumor growth. The study also points to another gene, DYRK1A, which is implicated in tumor suppression in individuals with Down Syndrome.

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Photo by Phototropism, from "Shifting Perspectives 2008" exhibition. Used via Creative Commons.