APPLICATION OF BIOCHIP USING THE MOLECULAR BEACON PROBE IN BREAST CANCER GENE P53 DETECTION

摘要

Today, breast cancer remains a worldwide public health concern and about 180,000 women are diagnosed with the disease yearly in the US (Kelsey, 1993). p53, a breast cancer susceptibility gene, was first identified in 1994. People carrying a mutation (abnormality) in this gene are at an increased risk of breast or ovarian cancer. At least 10% of observed breast cancer cases in the general population are related to the genetic predisposition (Tsourkas et al. 2003). The detection of p53 offers an opportunity to characterize the function of genetic features in breast and ovarian cancer and to screen breast or ovarian cancer patients for the presence of germline mutations. Discovery of a mutation in patients can greatly effect the prediction of cancer risk and help the doctors and patient to take the appropriate steps for treatments (Chen 2000).