After years of research on fruitflies, scientists have found out a new cancer-causing gene. Named 'patched' or PTC , the gene is basically a suppressor gene which helps in controlled growth and development of cells. When the PTC gene is defective, absent or damaged by UV-radiation, unchecked cell proliferation occurs. Patients with basal cell nervous syndrome, a rare bone disorder, developed mutation in patched genes in tumour cells, but this condition was not seen in normal cells from the same flies. Similar mutation in flies developing basal cell carcinoma confirmed the role of the gene in human cancer.
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