Huntington's disease 'lowers' cancer risk

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17678587


Huntington's is genetic brain disorder that slowly impairs a person's ability to walk, think and talk.


People with Huntington's disease, a debilitating brain condition, appear have a "protection" from cancer, according to a study in Sweden.

Nearly 40 years of medical records showed patients with Huntington's had half the normal expected risk of developing tumours.

Researchers, writing in The Lancet Oncology, said the reason was unclear.

Cancer Research UK said the findings presented another avenue to explore in tackling cancer.

Academics at Lund University analysed Swedish hospital data from 1969 to 2008. They found 1,510 patients with Huntington's disease.

[jehop61]

1. This was one

of the silliest studies I've ever seen. Get one dread disease and it lowers the risk for another dread disease! Wow, can't the people funding this research find better uses for their money?

[drm604]

3. I don't see how it's silly.

The article says that polyglutamine diseases (one of which is Huntington's) seem to lower the risk of cancer, but they don't know why. If they can figure out why, the answer may very well be something that aids in the fight against cancer. How is that a waste of money?

Sure, it may lead nowhere, but most cancer research leads nowhere. Does that mean that we should stop doing cancer research? Of course not, because sometimes it does lead to something useful. The problem is that we don't know ahead of time which leads will and won't pan out. So we follow all of the promising ones, knowing that most won't turn out to be useful, but a few likely will.

[saras]

4. So you don't think it's valuable to understand how either works? Or just don't understand science?

Science is not corporate technology. You don't get to "choose" what to study, you follow the data. And since this "study" was a purely statistical analysis of existing information on existing people, it cost nearly nothing compared to the scientific data gathered.

Basically the "study" amounted to looking at forty years of hospital records, noticing that people with Huntington's (an inherited genetic disease) don't get cancer (a genetic disease, in many cases) as often as others.

AHA! There is possibly a connection between the biological processes affected by Huntingtons' and those that govern cancer resistance. PERHAPS some part of the mechanism Huntingtons' uses could be adapted to fight cancer. As it's a genetic disease, you can't give it to people, so there's no risk there. It looks like REALLY PROMISING science.

But some people just don't like science (like the entire English department at the university I attend. But that's 90% jealousy, not of money, but of the fact that scientific theories can accomplish so much, whereas critical theory only seems to be useful to destroy culture one disapproves of)

[MineralMan]

8. Silly? How?

If it is true, it may help understand why some people get cancer and others don't. Nobody's suggesting that people get Huntington's so they won't get cancer. Science is about finding causes of things. When those are understood, it's possible to develop preventative measures.

[Th1onein]

9. I disagree with you

By understanding the mechanisms of how Huntington's lowers the risk for cancer, we might be able to find out how to lower the risk for cancer. It's that simple. And it does not mean that we have to give people Huntington's, but rather that we can better understand the process by which cancer develops by understanding how the biochemistry involved in Huntington's interferes with this process. This is NOT a "silly" study at all.

[cindyperry2010]

2. I have distantly related relatives and

the whole family suffers from this or are waiting for it to afflict them. not a pretty sight. i would bet if they could respond some would rather have cancer at least they have a chance to beat cancer.

[FarPoint]

5. My heart goes out to you and your family.

((((HUG))))

[MADem]

6. Cure worse than the disease kind of thing.

Maybe they can find out how the Huntington's acts on cancer and take the good from that without the pesky can't walk/talk/think thing.

[drm604]

7. I'm certain that's the idea.

I don't think anyone is considering giving Huntington's to cancer patients. Even if some evil person wanted to do that, they couldn't, because Huntington's is an inborn genetic thing.

[MADem]

10. It's funny how things that kill ya can also cure ya.

I would love to see cancer nipped in the proverbial bud, once and for all. Too many people die from it.

[LeftishBrit]

11. Interesting.

My first reaction was 'well, of course it does, as it generally kills you before you reach the age where cancer is a big risk'; but the researchers do seem to be comparing Huntington's patients with others of the same age and background.

It would be interesting to see why this is the case.

Several serious genetic diseases do seem to also confer some immunity to common illnesses, which may be why evolution hasn't eliminated them.

[Chemisse]

12. Sadly, evolution can do nothing to eradicate Huntington's, since it strikes after child-bearing age.