Genetic Markers Identified for Early Onset Prostate Cancer Risk

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with prostate cancer risk has been confirmed in younger men with aggressive forms of the disease. A single-nucleotide polymorphism is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide in the genome differs between individuals.

Genetics and traditional screening methods could play a role in predicting the risk of prostate cancer in younger men. Early diagnosis and therefore early treatment is more feasible when the Prostate Screening Antigen (PSA) test is combined with specific gene screening,

In a study, carried out by scientists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (U-M, Ann Arbor, MI, USA), 14 genetic mutations were looked for in 754 men aged 56 or younger with prostate cancer. The screening results from this group were compared with those from 1,163 prostate cancer patients over the age of 56 and 2,713 men without prostate cancer.

The younger men diagnosed with early onset prostate cancer had a greater frequency of risk alleles that either of the other two groups. In addition, 30% of the younger men had aggressive prostate cancer and 41% of these men had at least one first-degree relative with prostate cancer.

Professor Kathleen Cooney, M.D, the lead scientist in this study, said, "Early onset prostate cancer has a strong genetic component, which we saw in this study. Our next step is to look more widely for novel genetic variants among this group of men."

They will next look at the genome of a larger population of men with early onset prostate cancer to find common mutations that may be linked to the disease. The results of the study were presented in June 2010 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting,

Prostate cancer is the most common neoplasm amongst men of all races in the U.S., and around 200,000 new cases occur annually and about 28,000 will die from the disease. In the U.K., the incidence rate is 120.7/100,000 and even higher in most western European countries. The risk of prostate cancer increases with age, consequently early diagnosis and treatment can save lives.

Related Links:
University of Michigan
American Society of Clinical Oncology