Cancer genetics

NPC provides a very interesting model system for understanding the interaction of a virus infections with genetics in an oncogenic process. The high rate of familial clustering of NPC have shown an enhanced oncogenic potential, indicating genetic prediposition and activation of EBV virus play an important role in pathogenesis of NPC. We have recently initiated a joint project with groups in China, Denmark , and France concerning the susceptibility genes in NPC. This project is mainly focused on identification of the susceptibility gene(s) for NPC from Chinese and Greenlandic Inuits, which are from two different areas with the highest incidence in the world. The main approach is linkage analysis in high incidence families, complemented with other newly developed techniques such as variants of comparative genome hybridization.

 

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