Gene 'may ward off lung cancer'

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Scientists have pinpointed a gene which protects against lung cancer. It is hoped the discovery of the role of the tumour suppressor gene - LIMD1 - may lead to new treatments and techniques to pick up disease earlier, reports BBC.
Lung cancer is the UK's biggest cancer killer, claiming around 33,600 lives a year, partly because it often only detected at a late stage.
The University of Nottingham study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers compared lung cancer tissue with healthy lung tissue.
This is very exciting research which could lead to the development of early screening techniques and treatments for lung cancer.
They found that the LIMD1 gene was missing in the majority of lung cancer samples, indicating that it might help to protect the body against the disease. In a follow up experiment mice bred to lack the gene developed cancer.