For the first time, a gene linked to the often fatal childhood cancer neuroblastoma has been identified, researchers report. "This is the first paper that helps us understand what causes this childhood cancer," said lead researcher Dr. John M. Maris, director of the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We expected for decades that this cancer was a genetic disease, but we have had a hard time understanding what abnormalities in our genetic makeup lead to this cancer."

Full story: medicinenet.com