Certain genes play a major role in the development of prostate cancer

Many people with prostate cancer have a specific gene mutation
Prostate cancer is a serious disease that causes many people around the world to die. In Germany, about every third in 100 people dies from this form of cancer. Researchers have now discovered that inherited genes play a greater role in the development of prostate cancer than previously thought. For example, about twelve percent of the diseased men seem to have inherited defective genes.

Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research in London have now found in their study that defective inherited genes are to blame for the development of prostate cancer. This new insight could help to develop individualized treatments for the disease in the future. For example, genetic tests could detect a predisposition to the disease early on. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Journal of Medicine".

Prostate cancer is a disease that costs many men worldwide their lives. A simple test and a new type of treatment may help prevent some of these deaths. (Image: Henrie / fotolia.com)

Prostate cancer is the third most common deadly cancer
Genetic testing for men with prostate cancer could in the future determine whether they are affected by the dangerous genetic defect and whether a special therapy could help them. This could potentially prevent many deaths worldwide. About ten percent of cancer deaths are due to prostate cancer. This makes prostate cancer the third most common deadly cancer. Only lung and colon cancer kill more people every year. Concerned and medical researchers are always looking for new ways to fight the disease or prevent their development. Here, a recent study found that regular sex prevents prostate cancer. A preventive measure that most men should not have a problem with.

About twelve percent of men with prostate cancer suffer from an inherited gene mutation
There are many factors that influence whether or not we get prostate cancer. For example, a larger waist circumference increases the risk for prostate cancer. The new study found that approximately 12 percent of men with prostate cancer have an inherited gene mutation that is a risk factor. This hereditary BRCA mutation could lead to treatment with new drugs, say the doctors. The British scientists and their colleagues from the United States used a simple saliva test to study 20 genes that play a role in the development of prostate cancer. About twelve percent of the men tested had an inherited mutation in a DNA repair gene. A mutation of BRCA was found in about five percent of men, the experts add.

Patients could benefit from precision treatment in the future
Our study has shown that a significant proportion of men with advanced prostate cancer were born with DNA repair mutations, explains Professor John de Bono of the Institute of Cancer Research. In these men with advanced prostate cancer, a genetic test could identify the existing mutation. Patients could benefit from special precision treatment, adds Professor de Bono. Such men should then use drugs such as PARP inhibitors to fight the cancer, the researchers explain.

People with advanced prostate cancer often have mutated DNA repair genes
Mutated DNA repair genes were detected more than four times more frequently in men with advanced prostate cancer than in the general population, the researchers say. These genes have also been found more than twice as often in men with advanced prostate cancer than in those with localized prostate cancer, the experts explain. They are therefore to be assessed as a clear risk factor for the disease. (As)