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Public release date: 12 January 2010
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Genetic variant linked with the risk of prostate cancer identified
Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues have identified the first
genetic variant associated with aggressive
prostate cancer, proving the concept that genetic information
may one day be used in combination with other factors to guide treatment decisions.
According to study authors, prostate cancer accounts for one-fourth of all cancer diagnoses in the United States.
Autopsy studies suggest that most aging men will develop prostate lesions that, if detected clinically,
would be diagnosed as cancer.
Although most men have a slow-growing form of the disease, aggressive prostate cancers are currently the second-leading
cause of cancer death in the U.S., accounting for 27,000 deaths annually.
While researchers have identified multiple genetic variants associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer
in the first place, until now there have been no genetic factors associated with disease aggressiveness.
Based on existing evidence that some men are genetically predisposed to developing aggressive prostate cancer, the
researchers hypothesized that inherited genetic variants exist that could be used as markers to identify these men
at an early, curable stage of disease.
The researchers identified a genetic variant (rs4054823) that was associated with a 25 percent higher risk of developing
aggressive disease. This is a variant with a moderate effect, but its identification is significant because it indicates
that variants predisposing men to aggressive disease exist in the genome.
The study leader said that as more variants associated with aggressive disease are identified, it is possible that
doctors could test men to determine their risk of aggressive disease not only at the time of diagnosis, but early
enough in their lives to target them for increased screening.
The research will be reported online next week (Jan. 11-15) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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