A Singapore study led by Duke\u2011NUS Medical School and NUHS found that age, smoking, oral bacteria and genetic mutations together amplify the risk of stomach cancer.<\/p>\n
Researchers identified key genetic changes, including loss of the ARID1A tumour suppressor gene and SBS17 DNA damage aggravated by smoking, which increase cancer risk and worsen prognosis.<\/p>\n
The team also discovered that pyrvinium, a drug used for pinworm infections, may slow or prevent progression of intestinal metaplasia, with clinical trials planned under the Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium.<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE, Feb 7 \u2014 A Singapore study has found that age, smoking, oral bacteria and genetic mutations can combine to amplify the risk of stomach cancer.<\/p>\n
The Straits Times reported that scientists from Duke\u2011NUS Medical School and the National University Health System (NUHS), working with international researchers, identified early biological changes in the stomach lining that precede cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about finding the right people, at the right time, with the right interventions before cancer takes hold,\u201d said Professor Yeoh Khay Guan, chief executive of NUHS and co\u2011senior author of the study.<\/p>\n
The study, published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, highlighted red flags in patients with intestinal metaplasia (IM), a condition linked to chronic gastritis or acid reflux.<\/p>\n
Researchers analysed more than 1,500 samples across six countries and identified 47 significantly mutated genes in IM cells.<\/p>\n
They found that loss of the tumour suppressor gene ARID1A, age\u2011related blood mutations and a DNA damage pattern known as SBS17 increase the risk of gastric cancer and worsen prognosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cARID1A stands out because it provides crucial growth control and is the second most frequently mutated driver gene in gastric cancer, occurring in 17 to 27 per cent of cases,\u201d said Professor Patrick Tan, dean of Duke\u2011NUS Medical School and co\u2011senior author.<\/p>\n
He added that when ARID1A is lost, the stomach\u2019s protective safeguards are weakened and IM is more likely to progress.<\/p>\n
The scientists found that SBS17, a DNA damage pattern linked to oxidative stress, is further aggravated by smoking.<\/p>\n
Yeoh said the findings can help doctors identify people at high risk who need closer follow\u2011up, while reassuring those at low risk.<\/p>\n
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is among the world\u2019s deadliest cancers because it often shows no symptoms in the early stages, leading to late diagnosis.<\/p>\n
It is one of the top 10 causes of cancer\u2011related deaths and claims between 300 and 500 lives annually in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium (SGCC), a national research programme, has been studying pre\u2011cancerous patients since 2007 using advanced genetic technologies.<\/p>\n
In 2023, SGCC researchers found that patients with IM face a six\u2011fold increased risk of developing stomach cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat study, however, was confined to Singapore patients, and it was unclear how generalisable our findings were and if they could be extended to other countries. For findings to have true clinical value, international validation is required, preferably across multiple countries,\u201d according to Yeoh.<\/p>\n
Yeoh said the new international study validates IM as a true pre\u2011cancerous lesion and an actionable checkpoint for prevention.<\/p>\n
The team also discovered that pyrvinium, a drug used to treat pinworm infections, can slow the growth and transformation of stomach lining cells into IM cells.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur colleagues in the US have also performed pre\u2011clinical studies in mice and organoids, and (found) that pyrvinium suppresses cancer\u2011driving chemical signalling and reverses metaplasia in the stomach,\u201d Yeoh said.<\/p>\n
He added that clinical trials are needed to establish dosage, safety and efficacy for pyrvinium in slowing or preventing IM progression.<\/p>\n
SGCC is now embarking on clinical studies to test pyrvinium\u2019s effect, with early\u2011phase trials expected to take one to two years if approved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Singapore study led by Duke\u2011NUS Medical School and NUHS found that age, smoking, oral bacteria and genetic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[165,47497,23305,51758,163,85,143448,46,143597,2252,13672,70867,143446,143596,143445],"class_list":{"0":"post-278910","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-cancer","9":"tag-dna-damage","10":"tag-duke-nus-medical-school","11":"tag-genetic-mutations","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-il","14":"tag-intestinal-metaplasia","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-nuhs","17":"tag-singapore","18":"tag-smoking","19":"tag-stomach-cancer","20":"tag-stomach-lining","21":"tag-tumour-suppressor-gene","22":"tag-yeoh-khay-guan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}