| abstract |
We have now discovered that eukaryotes, including mammals, have a gene that encodes a multifunctional protein having helicase activity, DNA repair activity, p53 sequestering activity and oncogenetic transformation potential. Enhanced transcripts and expression of this gene in non-testicular cells have a high correlation to disease state in a number of cancers, such as colorectal carcinomas, hereditary cancers resulting from defects in DNA repair pathways, breast cancers, etc. Accordingly, discovering enhanced levels of transcript or gene product in non-testicular tissues can be diagnostic of a predisposition to cancer, and prognostic for a particular cancer. |