A major international study of the genetics of breast cancer

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A major international study of the genetics of breast cancer

Immunogenetics: Open access journal focuses on the genetic research areas of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, systemic lupus erythematous, etc.

Immunogenetics is the branch of medical genetics that explores the relationship between the immune system and genetics.

The majority of the DNA is identical between individuals, but there are some differences, known as genetic variants, and these changes can have a profound effect, increasing an individual's susceptibility to disease.

Our DNA -- the blueprint for the human body -- contains between 20,000-25,000 genes. Many of these code for proteins, the building blocks that make up the human body. Genetic variants can be located within genes, altering the protein. However, most of genetic variants are located outside genes, sometimes regulating the function of genes, turning their 'volume' up or down or even off. Finding which gene is targeted by these variants is not straightforward.

Most diseases are complex, polygenetic diseases -- in other words, no single genetic variant or gene causes the disease, but rather the combination of a number of them act together to increase the likelihood that an individual will develop a particular disease. Breast cancer is one such disease.

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which involve comparing the DNA of patients against that of healthy controls, have found around 150 regions of the genome that clearly affect breast cancer risk. Within these regions, researchers know there are one or more genetic changes that affect the risk of developing cancer, but rarely are they able to pinpoint the specific variants or genes involved. Fine-mapping studies, such as this one, allow scientists to narrow down which variants contributing to the disease, how they might work and predict which are the genes involved.

The journal invites different types of articles including original research article, review articles, short note communications, case reports, Editorials, letters to the Editors and expert opinions & commentaries from different regions for publication.

A standard Editorial tracking system is utilized for manuscript submission, review, editorial processing and tracking which can be securely accessed by the authors, reviewers and editors for monitoring and tracking the article processing.

Media Contact:
Robert Solomon
Managing Editor | Immunogenetics: Open Access
Whatsapp no: +1-504-608-2390