Yash Pershad

Stories

MSI2 protective variant against blood cancer discovered

As of May 2026: Led longitudinal validation analysis

For decades, cancer genetics meant finding mutations that raise risk. Now scientists have found one that lowers it. A variant in the MSI2 gene reduces the risk of blood cancers by up to 30% in people who carry two copies—the first protective genetic variant identified against myeloid malignancies.

Updated May 22

Notable Quotes

"Most genetic studies only provide information from a snapshot in time, but the longitudinal samples in BioVU allowed us to study the mutations over six years."

from MSI2 protective variant against blood cancer discovered · Updated May 22

"We could clearly see that in people with the protective variant, precancerous clones behaved fundamentally differently than we expected—they shrunk or disappeared rather than expanding and becoming cancer."

from MSI2 protective variant against blood cancer discovered · Updated May 22