In order to detect genetic variants associated with childhood cancer to establish early diagnosis, experts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) conducted a pilot study of the genome of 50 children with that condition, and their parents, to know if there is an inherited genetic alteration that helps detect it.

“In Mexico, cancer is the leading cause of death due to disease in children, and unlike cancer in adults, there are no preventive measures or early diagnosis,” said Gabriela Mercado Celis, researcher at the Clinical Genomics Laboratory, in the UNAM’s Faculty of Dentistry (FD).

The study

The research is carried out in the Clinical Genomics Laboratory, in collaboration with the Aquí nadie se rinde (Here nobody surrenders) private assistance institution, which annually helps between 800 and 1000 families of children with this disease around the country.

Gabriela Mercado Celis, who directs the research, explained that families who agree to participate are given a family diagram to assess the dynamics, composition, structure and evolutionary cycle of their family. In addition, to identify environmental risk factors, they must answer questionnaires prepared in the Public Health Department of the FD.

The genetic study is elaborated from saliva samples of both parents and the child with cancer, which are analyzed in the Clinical Genomics Laboratory, where the DNA is purified, sequenced and analyzed trough bioinformatics. The study includes the participation of Jorge Meléndez Zajgla, of the National Institute of Genomic Medicine.

“Through the analysis of trios (mom, dad and patient) we intend to identify environmental risk factors and/or mutations, or genetic alterations, as possible causes for the development of pediatric cancer,” said Óscar Alonso Luna, a graduate student who participated in the research.

Without preventive measures

It is estimated that 52 percent of childhood cancer cases in Mexico are leukemias, followed by lymphomas (10 percent) and tumors of the central nervous system (10 percent).

Although it represents one percent of all cancer cases, it is a problem, since in the country there are approximately 2,300 deaths per year due to this cause, said Mercado Celis.

Unlike cancer in adults, where less than five percent is associated with hereditary syndromes, in pediatric patients this figure could be between 10 and 30 percent, even without a family history. “We believe that in most cases there is no history. There are risks, but they have not been identified,” the expert added.

Two years ago, Mercado Celis obtained the “Miguel Alemán Valdés” Medical Research Stimulus, from the Miguel Alemán Foundation, in co-sponsorship with the UNAM, to identify some variants of pediatric cancer risk. Now seeks to analyze not only some genes, but the entire genome of children and their parents, make a database and share it with researchers from other parts of the world.

If associated genetic variants are detected, early diagnosis measures could be established and, if appropriate, genetic counseling for families, he said.

Meanwhile, Laura Vidales, founder of Aquí nadie se rinde, indicated that they collaborate in the study because all the families have the same concern: to know why their son got sick.

“When they tell you that your child has cancer, the question we all ask is: why did he get sick? What could I have done to prevent it? And the answer is: ‘We do not know’. It’s very hard,” she said.

“Parents are interested because it is important to know if they have the possibility of having a child at risk of developing cancer, talk about it as a couple, and making decisions. What families can contribute today will help others not to face what we are experiencing.”

She said her participation in the study is also because every day six children lose the battle against cancer in Mexico. “With one would be enough for us to do something, but there are six, which makes us join efforts and try something to help this vulnerable group,” she concluded.

 

Source: DGCS UNAM