Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Gene linked to U.S. black prostate cancer
SAN FRANCISCO, Jun 17, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A tumor-suppressing gene called GSTP1 is inactivated at a rate 3.5 times higher in U.S. blacks than among U.S. Caucasians.
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center found the GSTP1 gene is temporarily inactivated, or "silenced," through the process of hypermethylation, a chemical process involving four protein bases of the gene's DNA.
"This could be one of the mechanisms for the higher incidence of prostate cancer in African-Americans compared to Caucasians," said study leader Rajvir Dahiya. "When tumor suppression activity goes down, the tumor progresses much faster."
African-Americans have almost 1.7 times the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer compared to Caucasians in the United States.
The findings are published in the Aug. 20 issue of the International Journal of Cancer, currently available online.