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Prostate cancer breakthrough could aid screening
12 Feb 2008
The spread of prostate cancer could be prevented in future thanks to major advance in understanding about the genetic risk of developing the disease.
A study published in the journal Nature Genetics has discovered seven variations in the human genetic code present in over half of all new cases of prostate cancer.
Each individual mutation was found to increase the risk of the cancer by up to 60 per cent, but when all seven are present together this risk is raised three-fold.
The breakthrough will now enable scientists to produce a test to screen men for their individual risk to the disease, which has historically been difficult to identify.
Two of the seven genetic mutations in particular could prompt the development of new treatments and a more accurate blood test for the disease.
Dr Ros Eeles, who led the study at the Institute of Cancer Research, based at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London along with colleagues in Australia said: "These exciting results will help us to more accurately calculate the risk of developing prostate cancer and may lead to better targeted screening and treatment."
The study could also help in preventing illnesses with a single treatment target, as One of the genes identified, LMTK2, codes for a signalling protein called kinase also altered in some other cancers and in Alzheimer's disease.
Around 300,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in Europe annually, with this rising to 670,000 per year world wide.
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