Study identifies seven genetic risk factors for prostate cancer

This news item was added on 14th February 2008

Scientists have discovered seven new sites in the human genome that affect a man's risk of developing prostate cancer.

The disease is the most common form of cancer among British men, accounting for nearly 35,000 new cancer cases every year.

The study, which was carried out at the Institute of Cancer Research and the University of Cambridge, compared the genes of more than 10,000 men and identified one gene called MSMB that could be used to screen for prostate cancer, and a separate site that could become a target for new anti-cancer therapies.

These seven new genetic alterations appear to be present in more than half of all prostate cancers and increase a person's risk of the disease by up to 60 per cent, the report in Nature Genetics reveals.

Lead researcher Dr Ros Eeles commented: "These exciting results will help us to more accurately calculate the risk of developing prostate cancer and may lead to the development of better targeted screening and treatment."

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK and the director of the charity's Genetic Epidemiology Unit, Professor Doug Easton, added: "These results will greatly improve our knowledge of this important disease."