Why Cancer Is Rare Among Elephants

A recent finding that shows elephants rarely get cancer.  So can we learn from these large mammals?  According to an article in Discover magazine, even though the mammals are 100 times the size of humans, elephants are less likely to get cancer. But why?

The simplest explanation is most people have two copies of a gene that codes for p53 – a protein that “guardian of the genome.” Elephants have up to 40 to fight off cancer.  People with Li-Fraumeni, a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome, have only one working copy to code for the superhero protein that can jump in to repair damage or kill off a cell on its way to becoming cancerous. Without that genomic guardian swooping in to save the day, people with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome have a nearly 100 percent risk of developing cancer in their lifetime."

It would be interesting to see if other large mammals have high copies of p53.

The hope is to develop a drug that mimics the effect of p53 to help prevent, cure or treat the disease.  There could be a clinical trial within the next three to five years.  And that my friend is good news on this Monday.