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Research Highlights

Nature Reviews Cancer 9, 456 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrc2687

Angiogenesis: How Down's syndrome protects

Mhairi Skinner

Sandra Ryeom, George Daley and colleagues have identified a genetic explanation for the reduced risk of developing solid tumours that is evident in individuals with Down's syndrome. Having an extra copy of Down's syndrome candidate region 1 (DSCR1), a gene on chromosome 21 that is commonly present in triplicate in individuals with DS, is sufficient to slow cancer cell growth by preventing the tumour from developing its own blood supply.