Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has identified a gene that is under-expressed in human lung cancer cells - GPRC5A - which was found to suppress lung tumors in mouse models.

The study found that mice with both of their GPRC5A genes suppressed developed normally until their second year of life, when 76 percent developed precancerous lesions called adenomas in their lungs and another 17 percent developed malignancies called adenocarcinomas.

Only 10 percent of mice with both GPRC5A genes intact developed adenomas, and only 11 percent with one working version of the gene. None of the mice in the latter two groups developed lung cancer.

The findings, reported by the researchers in the November 21 edition of The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, could provide a key to attacking lung cancer in humans - the leading cause of death in cancers.

According to senior author Reuben Lotan, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Thoracic/ Head and Neck Medical Oncology:

"In humans, lung adenocarcinomas are the most common type of lung cancer and the major cause of death from this disease.

Further study substantiating the role of the GPRC5A gene in human lung cancer could lead to the development of novel approaches for lung cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment."

Find more details from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.