Researchers Link Lack of Protein to Brain Cancer

The development of brain cancer is strongly linked to the lack of a protein that repairs DNA damage, University of Washington researchers have found.

The protein, known as MGMT, defends brain cells against damage caused by nitrosamines, a cancer-causing chemical found in such products as beer, bacon and tobacco smoke. Many people who develop brain tumors lack enough MGMT to repair DNA damage caused by those agents, the researchers said.

“Most of us are well protected, so we can withstand exposure to nitrosamines without developing cancer,” said John Silber, a research assistant professor of neurological surgery who led the study.

The findings were published July 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

About 18,000 people a year contract primary brain cancer in the United States; most die within two years.