Study Reveals How Ionising Radiation Damages DNA and Causes Cancer

Previous studies on cancer have shown that DNA damage often leaves a molecular fingerprint on the genome of a cancer cell. These fingerprints are formally known as mutational signatures. Researchers and their collaborators from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have successfully identified two patterns of mutational signatures of DNA damage in human cancers caused by ionising radiation. Ionising radiation comes from gamma rays, X-rays,  and radioactive particles.

The researchers compared the mutational signatures found in genomes of 12 patients with secondary radiation-associated tumors and 319 patients that had not been exposed to radiation. In the results of their study they found that independent of cancer type, there were two mutational signatures for radiation damage in these cancer victims. Those that had been exposed to ionising radiation and those who had not.

The first of the mutational signatures is a deletion where small numbers of DNA bases are cut out. The second is called a balanced inversion. Balanced inversion does not happen naturally in the body but high-energy radiation could make enough DNA breaks at the sea moment to make this reaction possible. This mutational signature happens when the DNA is cut on two ends and the middle piece flips around and reconnects in the opposite orientation.

I find this article interesting because it is the first time researchers have discovered the damage that ionising radiation does to the body. This article is immensely important for society as well because we can start to discover what types of cancer ionising radiation causes and how to better treat the different types of cancer. Hopefully this will increase the amount of lives that doctors can save, knowing how to treat them more effectively.

Parker Brown

References:
“Study Reveals How Ionising Radiation Damages DNA and Causes Cancer.” Study Reveals How Ionising Radiation Damages DNA and Causes Cancer, Biology News Net, 12 Sept. 2016, www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/12/study_reveals_how_ionising_radiation_damages_dna_and_causes_cancer.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2Bbiologynews%2Fheadlines%2B%28Biology%2BNews%2BNet%29.