Oncogenic rearrangements driving ionizing radiation–associated human cancer
Menée sur des échantillons tumoraux prélevés sur 26 patients atteints d'un cancer de la thyroïde avant l'âge de 10 ans et vivant dans la région de Tchernobyl lors de l'accident de la centrale nucléaire, cette étude identifie des fusions de gènes activant la signalisation MAPK ou, moins fréquemment, un programme de transcription associé au récepteur nucléaire PPARγ
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster has caused a remarkable increase in radiation-induced papillary thyroid carcinoma in children and young adults. In this issue of the JCI, Ricarte-Filho and colleagues demonstrate that chromosomal rearrangements are the oncogenic “drivers” in most post-Chernobyl carcinomas and that they often lead to unscheduled activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. These findings represent a major step forward in our understanding of radiation-induced carcinogenesis and suggest various hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying the formation and selection of gene rearrangements during cancer cell evolution.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation , commentaire, 2012