Finding new genetic links to prostate cancer

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Finding new genetic links to prostate cancer

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, including Center Director Thomas A. Sellers, Ph.D., M.P.H., Jong Park, Ph.D. and Hui-Yi Lin, Ph.D., have discovered 23 new regions of the genome that influence the risk for developing prostate cancer, according to a study published Sept. 14 in Nature Genetics.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in American men. About 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with the disease in his lifetime. Family history is the strongest risk factor. A man with one close relative, a brother or father with prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease as a man with no family history of prostate cancer.
This study brings the number of genetic variants linked to prostate cancer to 100. Testing for those variants can identify men with a risk of the disease that is almost six times higher than average.
“This study gives us a more complete list of genetic factors that increase a man’s prostate cancer risk. The goal is to now take this information and use it to develop a reliable test that can be used in addition to current screening methods,” said Park.
Story Source: www.sciencedaily.com
The above story is based on materials provided by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.