DNA Regions That Influence Prostate Cancer Risk Identified
- Scientists have discovered the exact DNA variants that contribute to prostate cancer risk.
- In a multi-stage study, the collaborators systematically searched the whole genome of cancer patients and healthy controls for specific gene variants. Then they calculated whether specific variants are found more often in patients than in healthy people.
- Professor Dr. Hermann Brenner, explains: "Each of these gene variants taken on its own is associated with only a slight increase in prostate cancer risk by a few percent. However, by taking account of the different variants at the same time it becomes possible to identify groups of persons who have a significantly elevated risk. Examining the genetic material for such risk variants might therefore improve medical consultation on the prevention and early detection of prostate cancer in the future."
- Such DNA variants are scientifically called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
- Alongside a number of already identified variants, the investigators found seven SNPs that emerged for the first time in association with an elevation in prostate cancer risk. The variants are all located in DNA regions that also contain genes for which the scientists consider it plausible that they play a role in carcinogenesis.
- With the seven newly discovered DNA regions, scientists are now able to explain about 25 percent of familial cancer risk.
