{"id":2809,"date":"2021-11-10T10:04:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T15:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bmg.med.virginia.edu\/?p=2809"},"modified":"2026-05-22T20:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T20:29:08","slug":"uva-reveals-how-gene-mutation-boosts-cancer-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/bmg\/2021\/11\/10\/uva-reveals-how-gene-mutation-boosts-cancer-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"UVA Study Reveals How Mutation Boosts Cancer Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/bmg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/454\/2021\/11\/header_gene_mutations_aa_450x253.png\" alt=\"illustration of gene mutations \" width=\"450\" height=\"253\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/bmg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/454\/2021\/11\/header_gene_mutations_aa_450x253.png 450w, https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/bmg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/454\/2021\/11\/header_gene_mutations_aa_450x253-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/bmg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/454\/2021\/11\/header_gene_mutations_aa_450x253-356x200.png 356w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered how a common gene mutation robs people of natural cancer protection.<\/p>\n<p>Hao Jiang, of the UVA Cancer\u00a0Center, and his collaborators have revealed why a mutation in the\u00a0<em>UTX<\/em>\u00a0gene disrupts cells\u2019 ability to suppress tumors. The gene product, they found, forms tiny droplets in cells that help prevent tumor formation. But the mutation throws a wrench in that important process, leaving affected people vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>The new understanding of this vulnerability will help scientists and doctors as they seek better ways to battle and prevent cancer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For the entire article please <a href=\"https:\/\/news.virginia.edu\/content\/uva-reveals-how-gene-mutation-boosts-cancer-risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered how a common gene mutation robs people of natural cancer protection. Hao Jiang, of the UVA Cancer\u00a0Center, and his collaborators have revealed why a mutation in the\u00a0UTX\u00a0gene disrupts cells\u2019 ability to suppress tumors. The gene product, they found, forms tiny droplets in cells that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1777,"featured_media":2644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-2809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","tag-intranet"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UVA Study Reveals How Mutation Boosts Cancer Risk - Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/bmg\/2021\/11\/10\/uva-reveals-how-gene-mutation-boosts-cancer-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UVA Study Reveals How Mutation Boosts Cancer Risk - Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered how a common gene mutation robs people of natural cancer protection. Hao Jiang, of the UVA Cancer\u00a0Center, and his collaborators have revealed why a mutation in the\u00a0UTX\u00a0gene disrupts cells\u2019 ability to suppress tumors. 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