Twin sisters battling against aggressive cancers

A recent study has been conducted on twin 3-year-old sisters, one healthy and the other having aggressive leukemia. The study was led with the prime motive to identify the molecular target that might lead to a way for treating recurring and deadly malignancies. This study further indicates to the molecular pathway that involves a gene called SETD2 that can lead to alterations in blood cells while DNA is transcribed or replicated. Gang Huang, PhD, co-author and a researcher from the divisions of Pathology and Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center explains the comparison of genes, “We reasoned that monozygotic twins discordant for human leukemia would have identical inherited genetic backgrounds and well-matched tissue-specific events. This provided a strong basis for comparison and analysis. We identified a gene mutation involving SETD2 that contributes to the initiation and progression of leukemia by promoting the self-renewal potential of leukemia stem cells.”