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The role of ATM in breast cancer development

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Abstract

Complete or partial inability to sense and repair DNA damage increases the risk of developing cancer. The ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein kinase has a crucial role in response to DNA double-strand breaks. Hereditary mutations in the ATM gene are the cause of a rare genomic instability syndrome ataxia telangiectasia (AT) characterized, among others, by elevated cancer risk. Although clear in homozygotes, numerous studies have failed to find a link between heterozygotes and cancer. However, there is increasing evidence that ATM heterozygotes have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. First, epidemiological studies conferred an increased risk of breast cancer among AT relatives. Second, in vitro studies of heterozygous cells provide strong evidence of hyperradiosensitivity. Third, some clinical studies found an increased frequency of ATM mutations among high-risk breast cancer families.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Internal Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (Grant No. 9051-3/2006) and the Research Project of the Ministry of Education (Grant No. MSM 0021620808).

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jana Prokopcova, Zdenek Kleibl, Claire M. Banwell & Petr Pohlreich

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  1. Jana Prokopcova
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Prokopcova, J., Kleibl, Z., Banwell, C.M. et al. The role of ATM in breast cancer development. Breast Cancer Res Treat 104, 121–128 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-006-9406-6

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