Familial Cancer andARLTS1

Abstract

Calin et al. (April 21 issue)¹ report on ARLTS1, a novel tumor-suppressor gene with proapoptotic characteristics and a member of the ADP-ribosylation factor family. It is proposed that a protein-truncating mutation (G446A) predisposes patients to cancer on the basis of the higher frequency of this allele among patients with familial cancer than among patients with sporadic tumors. The allele frequency was population-dependent, but when patient groups were compared with the control group, this heterogeneity was not accounted for. Using Fisher's exact test, we arrive at a P value of 0.56 instead of 0.02 when comparing familial and sporadic cases and 0.30 when comparing familial cases with controls. The family used as an example lacks members at risk not carrying the polymorphism, and kindreds carrying the polymorphism remain cancer-free.