Genetics+and+Cancer+Susceptibility

Sam, Shannon, Kelsey and Ally
 * [[image:dna_image.png width="153" height="46"]] || Why is it called the "Blueprint of Life?" || What is it a blueprint for? || What reads the blueprint? ||



[] Our Webpage Resource

Describe your Topic below: We would like to find out what makes you more or less susceptible to getting cancer. Because you don't "catch" cancer we want to find out what in our genes leads some to be more prone to getting cancer and other less likely.

Brainstorm what you know and what you would like to know:

- Telomers play a role - Cells divide excessively - It is herediatary (certain types) - Carcinogens ~ toxins! ||  ||< - What makes you more or less likely? - Are genes "turned" on? - Children with Cancer? - Is it one specific gene for some cancers, are you born with it? - What causes it to turn on at what time? ||
 * = ** What we (think) we know ** ||=  ||= What we would like to know / understand ||
 * < - Cancer is caused my a mutation


 * Craft a Driving Question: **

What can we learn from Kelsey’s pedigree about how susceptible she would be for developing different types of cancer based on genetic research?

=__**Resources for the ASHG DNA Essay Contest**__=

[|quest diagnostics]

[|Direct to Consumer Genetic Tests]

[|Ethical Legal and Social Issues of Genetic Testing]

[|Medicine Plus]

[|National Genome Research]

[|Genetic Counseling]

[|Genetic Diseases lead some parents to not have kids] - some families are using genetic testing to determine their susceptibliity of passing on disease to their children - cost of testing is falling and more companies are offering it. - abortion, embryo destruction and worries about eugenics — selective breeding to rid a population of unwanted traits - testing is becoming a part of routine prenatal care

[|Genetic Testing for Companies Regulated by Gov't] - "These tests are a bit of a lottery. If each person's full genetic profile equates to 25 playing cards, someone undergoing one of these tests will only get the identity of three of those 25 cards, because that's how far the science has progressed," said Wilson.

A website [|www.23andme.com] is a leading provider in genetic testing without a phsycian. Their advertisement is as follows : With a simple saliva sample we'll help you gain insight into your traits, from baldness to muscle performance. Discover risk factors for 95 diseases. Know your predicted response to drugs, from blood thinners to coffee. And uncover your ancestral origins. The test costs $199 plus $5 a month. Their site says that kits orginally cost $499 and this is a sale.

[|Science Daily "Tiny Genes Increase Susceptibility?"] [|Breast Cancer Susceptibility]
 * Background Research **
 * noncoding genetic material called micro Rna may predispose some individuals to develop cancer
 * microRNA helps with
 * biological regulation
 * development
 * cell differentiation
 * helping to determine what type a cell ultimately becomes
 * if damaged them turn on or off tumor supressors
 * in done research miRNAs were found 1.5 times more likely to be in susceptibility regions than in non-susceptibility regions in the mouth genome
 * they can work to help you avoid cancer or make it more likely for you to get it
 * BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that are tumor suppressors
 * They help to repair damaged DNA
 * BRCA1 was found in 1994 on chromosome 17
 * BRCA2 was found in 1995 on chromosome 13
 * Mutations in these chromosomes are found in families with hereditary breast cancer
 * Found in a study of Jews with Eastern European descent
 * Many mutations to the gene are family specific
 * If a mutation is found on these genes, women are 70-76% likely to develop breast cancer by age 70
 * Carriers of mutations on these genes are also more succeptible to other types of cancer such as ovarian and fallopian tube

[|Is cancer hereditary?] [|Hereditary] *** Very Informative kb**
 * Breast cancer is a cancer where immediate relatives have a high risk because it is caused by a genetic mutation in BRCA1 and BRCA2
 * Women with this mutation have a 60% chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime
 * Their risk for developing ovarian cancer also increases
 * Environmental factors are also really important
 * Colon cancer is also indentifiable by a genetic mutation APC gene
 * If a person carries the APC gene they have close to an 100% chance of developing colon cancer in late adulthood
 * is really due to interaction of a group of genes and various environmental factors common to the family like eating habits and food preference
 * A small percentage of the cancers can be truly genetic with identifiable genetic markers

this is a good website
 * All cancers are caused by changes to materials in our bodies called “ //genes// .”
 * Some people are born with a gene mutation that they inherited from their mother or father. This damaged gene puts them at higher risk for cancer than most people.—hereditary cancer
 * Has a list of hereditary cancer. --important
 * Understanding Genes**

Most cancers come from random mutations that develop in body cells during one's lifetime - either as a mistake when cells are going through cell division or in response to injuries from environmental agents such as radiation or chemicals. The Cancer Genetics Network is researching and doing studies about the susceptibility of people getting cancer if people in their family have cancer. They study the patients and their families though tests and genetic counseling.
 * Cancer is a disease of genes gone awry.
 * Genes that control the orderly replication of cells become damaged, allowing the cell to reproduce without restraint and eventually to spread into neighboring tissues and set up growths throughout the body.
 * All cancer is genetic, in that it is triggered by altered genes.
 * However, just a small portion of cancer is inherited: a mutation carried in reproductive cells, passed on from one generation to the next, and present in cells throughout the body.
 * National Cancer Society**
 * [|Cancer and Genetics]**

[|cancer society] really good!
 * Cancer is a general name for over 100 diseases
 * All types begin with abnormal cell growth that becomes out of control
 * Cancer cells can invade tissues of other cells, which normal cells can't do
 * Cancer cells develop when there is damaged DNA within a cell and it should die, but instead begins to grow and split rapidly
 * People can inherit damaged DNA
 * Most DNA damage is caused by the environment
 * The type of cancer is always named for where it begins in the body, no matter where it travels to, because specific types of cancer hold specific characteristics even if they have moved.
 * Half of men and on-third of women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Activities and webquests to teach ourselves and possibly do with the class

 USING **FAMILY HISTORY** TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH [|Health Family Tree Lesson Plan] Engages students in learning about health family history and the connection between genetics and health. [|Pick the Risk: The Polygenic Pedigree Challenge] Students are challenged to track and record the passage of colored pom poms (representing genes) through generations of a family using a pedigree. [|Pre-Activity Movie] A movie students can watch prior to carrying out the Risk Continuum and Pick the Risk activities to help them better understand health family history and disease risk. [|Reduce Your Risk: A Promotional Campaign] Students design a promotional campaign that educates their peer group about how to prevent common diseases (e.g., heart disease or obesity). [|Risk Continuum] A whole-class kinesthetic demonstration of what it means to be in a "risk group" for developing heart disease based on family history/genetics. <span style="display: block; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Using Family History to Improve Your Health Web Quest] <span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Students explore the Using Family History to Improve Your Health module on the Genetic Science Learning Center website to complete a web quest. <span style="display: block; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|What's Your Family Health Story?] <span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Collect your family health history using this easy to follow guide and checklist. Arrange your family's health history into a pedigree chart. Student pages available in English and Spanish.

<span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">http://www.ehow.com/how_5813410_record-skype-video-conference.html[|quest diagnostics] <span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|http://ha.cancer.gov] <span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <span style="display: block; margin: -5px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Overview of different cancer topics, specific types of cancers, clinical trials, cancer statics, research and funding.