CTlA-4 gene test no longer mandatory
Breast cancer treatment may just become cheaper for women in north India as they will no longer be required to go for a “CTlA-4 gene test”. A recent study conducted by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital discovered that an important gene known to cause breast cancer risk in several populations across the globe plays no such role among north Indians. Thus, it may relieve the women of this ethnicity the financial burden borne out of the expensive gene test. The study, conducted by Dr Sachin Minhas from the Department of Medical Oncology, was recently published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention.
According to Minhas, there are genetic differences between Indians and the rest of the world populations, not only in terms of looks but also in the terms of diseases they suffer. “Due to different ethnicity and genetic make-up, polymorphic genes play different roles in different populations across the world. Thus, is the case of the Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTlA-4) which is actually a protein involved in the down-regulation of the immune system. Its role in increasing cancer susceptibility is well known in various populations across the world, especially Asians. However, no data till date with respect to the effect of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on breast cancer susceptibility in our north Indian population,” said Minhas.
While this is good news in the medical fraternity, women in North India are likely to bear monetary benefits too. As per reports, the CTlA-4 gene test is usually a required test when finding out how aggressive the cancer is. This helps the doctors give appropriate level of dosage. However, most people don’t get it done because of the exuberant price it comes at. Minhas informed that the minimum price for this test is anything between Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 and the highest is Rs 1.5 lakh. “Thus, people in the middle or lower classes either arrange for the amount or get treatment without getting it tested. This study has now given a clearance to this gene, so people who do pay for this test wouldn’t have to spend that much money and those who never got it done, wouldn’t have to worry,” said Minhas who conducted this study out of curiosity to find prevention rather than cure for cancer.
“We did a study on 500 women of which half were suffering from breast cancer and half were fit women. During the research we compared the CTlA-4 gene of both and found that they had no difference. A similar study was done on the Chinese population as well and that time it was proven that CTlA-4 increases the risk of cancer by 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent. This shows that due to difference in genetic makeup, the gene’s performance changed,” he added.